On an evening that offered only cold and overcast conditions, which the England ODI team would have used as an excuse not to play, the Falcons took to the field with an away fixture against Sandhurst.  Sandhurst won the toss and opted to bat first.  The Falcons bowling was generally across the board steady and accurate, with Sandhurst not being able to hit out and score the twos, threes and boundaries to compile a challenging score (even with those ‘plastic’ bats).  The home team were restricted to 224 for 7 and such was the lack of real runs from Sandhurst, if you took away the extras given away by the Falcons this score would have been very close to the season best bowling performance against Crown Wood.  What was perhaps noticeable with the Sandhurst innings was the lack of potential run outs with the home team preferring to play it safe and not risk the odd one or two runs.  Owen Powell took two wickets with two balls, and was that a hint of swing from Kieran Brown to claim a tidy ‘off-stump bowled’?
 

The steady bowling of the Falcons was then replaced with a fine and mature bating display.  Sam L-D and Kieran got the innings off to a great start with some excellent running and confident batting, including two sweetly struck boundaries from Sam L-D.  Sam and Kieran have been paired together all season, and their understanding and knowledge of each other’s game has forged into an effective partnership.  But Sam L-D was not destined to be top scorer as Thomas Manuel played wonderfully and hit his own boundaries on his way to 14 runs.  In addition, Ben Waring showed some wonderful ‘clips’ of his legs to keep the score ticking over and Sam Dunks added a great six with his normal forceful strokes.  The Falcons also benefited from some inexperienced fielding from Sandhurst when a few run-out opportunities going begging.  However, one highlight for Sandhurst came from another of Sam Dunk’s power shots, with one of their players taking a running one handed catch that you just did not expect to see during an under nine’s cricket match.  It was just WOW!  A special mention must also be made of Matthew Dalrymple who made his Falcons debut.  Even though Matthew is seven, his performance showed great maturity beyond his age with great shot selection and a natural confidence.  What a future beckons.  In the end, the Falcons reached 292 for 5 to record a comprehensive win.