After coming 3rd in the first edition of the Women’s Eight-a-side Indoor Cricket Tournament (2018), we were ready and motivated to try to win the tournament this year. A 9 hour drive from Brussels did not dampen our spirits, especially when we woke up to the beautiful snow-capped mountains peeking behind the gorgeous lake of Tegernsee on Saturday morning. The Team enjoyed a fantastic Bavarian breakfast and headed off with great enthusiasm.
Going into the first tournament of the season, our main objective as a Team was to be competitive, use the different skills of our young (not so much in age) team, and above all have a great time together.
The first day was action packaged with 3 games. The coin favouring us, we won the toss and elected to field in the first match against the Munich Lions. Our fielding was sharp and earned us two run- outs. The Bowlers did a fantastic job and kept the score to 48 runs that our batting side chased down in 4 overs. Highlight of this match were the two beautiful in-swingers from Nicky our Captain that took the bails off with such ease. Our next match with the BCA I was a nail biter. Our Batting side put up a good score of 74. Again our bowling and fielding was on point. We took 6 wickets and took the game away in the last over. With some exceptional bowling by the youngest member of our Team, Anya, taking 2 excellent wickets, we won the match. Our last match of the day was with Frankfurt Furies, and they set a target of 57 for us. Our batting side doing their part got us through comfortably in the 5th over. Having sailed through the day with 3 victories we rewarded ourselves with some beer, Schnitzel and fantastic company of all our friendly rivals.
On Sunday, like a well-oiled machine, the Team knew exactly what to do before and during a match. Everyone knew their role in the Team and was ready to give it their best. Our Semi Finals was with Austria cricket club. Anya took her bowling to the next level taking 3 excellent wickets that cemented her award for the Best bowler of the Tournament. The Team set a
target of 56 runs for us. Alix and Paromita, played some beautiful straight bat shots and ran very well between the wickets to make sure we reach our Target comfortably. Special mention to Pascale, the newest addition to our Team, she batted with such ease, it was great to see all the training being
implemented during the match.
And the stage was set for a final with Bayerische cricket Akademie II. We batted first and with great running between the wickets, a few risky shots, we set a target of 75. Shout out to Zara, for coming back to the game after 2 years due to an injury. With excellent running between the wickets, a beautiful 4, she announced her return in style. We were again consistent with our bowling and fielding, taking 3 wickets and winning the match.
We got home a Trophy and Medals and our smiling Team Mascot -Panda. We had a great start to the season and hopefully will be taking the winning attitude and the amazing understanding between the team into the rest of games. The 2019 seasons looks bright!