It was always going to be the toughest of starts for Sway's new U11 side against an experienced and strong Bashley first team, however, Sway's young team acquitted themselves well and the visitors did not have it all their own way.

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Heavy overnight rain meant that the new U11 wicket would have been ruined, so the match was played on an adjoining area which meant that the occasional low bounce was a hazard for both teams.

Sway skipper Josh Thompson won the toss and elected to bat. Sway's opening partnership was Edward Beeston and James Symons - Symons, an U9 becoming the youngest player to represent Sway in a competitive fixture. The pair held out for and over and a half but the accurate and pacey Bashley bowlers eventually got through their defenses with 4 wickets being lost during the partnership - all bowled.

The following Sway pair of Cameron Jones and Jonny Diamond took a while to get used to the pace and accuracy but eventually found their feet, with Cameron in particular playing some stylish shots including two cracking boundaries.

Next up was Dominic Woodfine and Josh Thompson. The pair batted with confidence against the slower bowlers in particular and scored 20 runs off the bat for the loss of just one wicket. Dominic top scored the innings with and unbeaten 11.

The final pairing was Luke Lewis and James Mantle, both promising U10s. Neither of the pair have ever faced bowling of that accuracy and speed before, so it was great credit to them that they held out so well, both only losing a wicket in the final over with Mantle being unlucky to play on.

Sway achieved their first objective - scoring more than 200 eventually ending up with 209.

With the ball Sway struggled at first with several of the boys understandably very nervous. However Cameron Jones followed up his batting performance with 3 tidy overs for just 12 runs. James Symons also bowled his over very well. Luke Lewis bowled 3-17, and James Mantle was particularly impressive beating the bat on several occasions in his 2-9.

In the end Sway failed in their second objective of the day - taking a wicket, albeit Jonny was unlucky to have a catch put down off his bowling. In the end Bashley scored an unbeaten 293 to run out comfortable winners.

Lots of work to do in training, but at least everyone knows where they need to be. However, cricket is very much a marathon rather than a sprint!