Tigers lose close match against Kidmore End

Despite having only 9 players available Reading fought hard against a good Kidmore End side to push them all the way in a close exciting game. Reading batted first with their openers Henry and Jibran soon dominating with some composed but forceful shot-making. Jibran was unlucky to be run out for 15, while Henry retired on 30 not out. After this impressive start, good bowling and fielding by Kidmore End made scoring difficult. However Zain came to the wicket in the closing overs and batted well to add momentum to the innings to finish on 16 not out. He was well supported by Nathan with the pair running lots of quick singles. As a result Reading finished on a decent total of 118-4.
Zain had had a strong debut performance with his batting, but his bowling was even better. He bowled decent line and length at a good pace and had 2 Kidmore End players out bowled in the first over. He was well supported by Jibran who kept the opposition under pressure with some quick bowling. With only 9 players fielding was difficult but the whole team worked hard and generally fielded well. A particular highlight was brothers Kaif and Uzaid combining very well to have one of Kidmore End's best batsmen run out. Our reduced numbers meant that it became hard to protect the boundaries and forceful batting by their talented middle order led to Kidmore End moving in to a strong position. The Reading bowlers and fielders stuck to their task and regular wickets started to fall with Aariz, Henry, Uzaid and Kaif bowling batsmen out. Ben was unlucky not to get a wicket as he had bowled a batsman out when a no ball was called. Robert also played well, working hard in the field, running well when batting and bowling some good deliveries.
Zain came back near the end to bowl an extra over. The Kidmore End batter did well to keep out Zain who bowled straight and fast forcing the batsman to play. With 8 wickets down Zain cranked up the pressure by bowling a maiden. It was, however, not quite enough as Kidmore End held their nerve and reached their target in the 18th over to finish on 119-8. Congratulations to Kidmore End for a deserved victory, but a lot of credit should go to a determined Reading side who battled hard and showed plenty of skill and team spirit.
Thanks should also go to Jacqui for unlocking the clubhouse, booking the pitch sorting out the stumps and scorecard, and taking photos. Thanks also to Nathan, Henry and Phil for sharing the scoring duties. It was also nice that Gaajuran, vice captain of Reading under 13 Lions and his dad Bala came along to support the team.