Thriplow U12’s first ever match of proper non-pairs cricket ended in a narrow defeat to Linton but the signs were very promising. New skipper Seth Fletcher managed to avoid the need to make his first decision when Linton won the toss and chose to bat first. Their star opener looked in confident form and found the boundary four times off opening bowlers Karl Miller and Ryan Lynch but the introduction of the Fountain twins slowed the rate and the opener managed to hole out to a good catch by the skipper at extra-cover. Ben F ended an excellent three-over spell with 3 for 6 and the bowling rotation paid dividends as wickets fell regularly and the run rate slowed to a trickle. Captain Fletcher displayed a fine sense of Ponting-esque derring-do by tossing the ball to leg-spinner Theo F for the final over and was rewarded with a wicket from a perfectly flighted ball which pitched on leg and hit the top of off stump. Linton finished on 82 for 7 in their 20 overs.

In reply, openers Karl Miller and Atti Majumdar rarely looked troubled but failed to get the scores their efforts warranted with an over-cautious approach to running between the wickets, triggering loud noises of disapproval from the by-now capacity crowd. Keeper Jacob Absolom came and went in tandem with the captain and it was left to Ben F with a fine 17 to push the total towards the target. Thriplow closed on 68 for 7, only 14 runs short - a notable effort as the floodlights came on and the spectators huddled in their thermal fleeces and one which should and will in future games have brought success with a more positive approach earlier in the innings.