Bedford Cricket Club under-13’s have a rich history when it comes to the ECB National competition, and the latest crop are well on their way to success with another county cup victory.
After wins against Ickwell and Elstow, Bedford came up against Lutonians Cricket Club on Thursday night in the final and came away with a tight 4-run victory at The Bury.
In a low scoring affair, Bedford posted 99-7 from their 20 overs with Aaryan Berry top scoring with 30.
However, Lutonians lost regular wickets and were not helped by four run outs as they fell four runs short; Fintan Horsman also chipping in with two wickets.
Bedford go on to face the winners of the Northamptonshire competition on Sunday morning.
The Saturday XI faced drama of their own in Loddington and Mawsley at the weekend, squeezing past their opponents by a single run as they moved up to third in their division.
Shiv Odedra continued his fine form with 96 as Bedford posted 172, and with 10 runs required off the final over, Sam Till (4-31) was the hero, with a wicket with the final ball of the innings.
The rain put paid to the Sunday 1st XI game at Clifton, but the 2nd XI were able to dodge the downpours to post a vital 45-run victory against Flitwick 3rd XI at The Bury.
Posting 216-8 on a slow pitch was a fine effort from the Bedford batsman, with Luton Stonier top scoring with 42.
Despite a couple of heavy rain showers in the chase, all of the bowlers chipped in with wickets as Flitwick could only reach 135-9 in response, chasing a revised target of 181.
The 2nd XI also move up to third in Division Five of the Bedfordshire County Cricket League, while the 1st XI’s still remain in the promotion places in Division Two with a key game at league leaders, New Bradwell next week.
The Under-15’s gained an invaluable win at Olney Town on Thursday night, winning by 4 wickets, as they opened up a 41-point lead at the top of the Under-15 county division.
The Under-13’s were also in league action on Tuesday evening, with the ‘A’ side beating Harrold by 41 runs, thanks to Aaryan Berry (33 not out) and Rajan Sangha’s 30 helping Bedford to 127-8.
Harrold could only reach 86-8 in response with Sammy Inman and Fintan Horsman gaining a brace of wickets each.
The ‘B’ side succumbed to Biddenham by 4 wickets despite 35 for Alex Turner in a Bedford total of 92. Dominic Lee-Krishna and Soren Knuffel’s opening partnership set Biddenham on their way to second in the league table.
Tom Carr is a player and volunteer at Bedford Cricket Club
