On a lovely sunny afternoon, the U15s took on a strong Oxton side at Townfield Lane. Callum won the toss and invited the hosts to bat. Sol trapped the opener LBW in his second over and bowled well but it was Ellen McGowan who picked up 2 wickets including the key wicket of the Oxton skipper Jack Corran to a fine catch on the boundary by Ryan Finn for an impressive 32.

Ryan & Callum maintained the early pressure, Callum picking up the wicket of the ex Upton junior Droov Vasooja. This brought Pachter to the wicket to join Darlington and after a slow start, both batsmen increased the scoring rate and put on 71 for the 5th wicket until Jess Penney clean bowled Pachter for 38. Jess and Ellen Lloyd both held their nerve in the face of some big hitting in the middle of the innings.

Phillip McGowan and Ally Hughes bowled the remaining overs, the latter trapping Tilleard LBW leaving Darlington 58 not out as Oxton declared on 189 for 6 after 36 overs. It was a good performance from everybody in the field who did well to stay focussed under the hot conditions and Luca Di Stefano gave an excellent display of wicket keeping.

After tea, Ally and Luca started the Upton reply and after an early setback, Ryan joined Ally and took the score to 41 in the 11th over before Ryan fell for a promising 13. This brought Callum to the wicket and the pair added 59 for the 3rd wicket in 14 overs. Ally, who had initially struggled to time the ball, played a full range of attacking shots hitting 5 4s and a 6 in his 59.

With Callum & Ally both looking assured, a win looked possible, however, Oxton brought their opening bowlers back and the scoring rate slowed. This pressure eventually led to Ally's downfall and brought Sol, one of only 3 under 15 boys in the side, to the wicket. Sol is the cleanest hitter of a ball in the side on his day but is struggling for confidence at the moment and never managed to get himself in.

This left Callum to bat with the younger boys and the girls in an attempt to draw the game. Dylan Sanderson strode confidently to the wicket to face West Cheshire opening bowler Tilleard and stood up manfully to the attack, hitting an excellent 4 through the leg side during his short innings. Harry Walker became Tilleard's 4th victim playing back to one that kept low and 100 for 2 had become 110 for 6 in the space of 5 overs.

Phillip McGowan joined Callum and the 2 looked untroubled as Upton now started to count down the remaining overs as they attempted to bat out the 39 overs needed to draw the game. Callum looked assured throughout his innings and young Phillip batted with great assurance despite being surrounded by close fielders.

With his last throw of the dice, Oxton skipper Jack Corran, ex Cheshire, brought himself back on and he induced an edge to first slip by Callum who fell for a workmanlike 24 in the 33rd over. With the 3 girls left, Upton needed to bat out nearly 7 overs. Jess Penny stood up to the pace bowling courageously and, along with Phillip, they mixed dogged defence with excellent scoring shots when the opportunities arose.

Unfortunately, the 37th over proved to be the last of the innings as Corran closed with a triple wicket maiden to leave Upton 127 all out. Corran and Tilleard finished with 4 wickets each. Despite the defeat, there were lots of positives from the game, not least of which was the excellent spirit within which the game was played. Special mention should go to Phillip McGowan (who batted with great maturity to finish on 6 not out) and Jess Penny who so nearly saved the game.

It is also worth noting that Oxton are a very strong side and many of the team came up against some of the quickest bowling they have ever faced today. Despite this, nobody took a backward step and everybody should be proud of their efforts. Onward and Upward!