Arundel Festival 2010
Kent Under 11 Girls narrowly failed to retain the Katie Berry Trophy that they had won last year as they were beaten into second place on run rate by Middlesex, who won for the first time since the festival inception in 2006.

Kent, Surrey and Middlesex had all finished level on 9 points with three wins and a loss each; Sussex won one match and Essex finished last.  In spite of not winning, Kent played some very good cricket in their four, 16 overs matches, only slipping up in their crucial encounter with eventual winners Middlesex on the morning of the final day.

Match 1
Kent Under 11 Girls v Surrey U11 Girls  (at Arundel Town CC)

Kent Under 11 Girls  93-3 (16 Overs) (Elodie Harbourne 29 not out, Izzy Cloke 22 not out, Maddie Hughes 17)

Surrey U11 Girls 89-6 (16 overs) (Stella Gowans 2-21)

Result:  Kent Under 11 Girls Won by 4 Runs

In spite of poor start, Ellie and Izzy’s 50 partnership helped us post a decent total. We kept things tight to start with but sloppy fielding and a lot of wides gave Surrey a ‘sniff’ of victory but we squeezed home.  It turned out to be the closest match of the festival and it was nice to beat Surrey who had beaten us twice previously in the season.

Match 2
Kent Under 11 Girls v Essex U11 Girls  (at Arundel Castle)

Kent Under 11 Girls  80-6 (16 Overs) (Rochelle Beeson 30 not out, Annabelle Richards 15)

Essex U11 Girls 50-10 (16 overs) (Sophia Long 3-9, Rochelle Beeson 2-0)

Result:  Kent Under 11 Girls Won by 30 Runs
An even more disastrous start on a very dodgy pitch cut into the outfield.  Rocky was the mainstay and gave us something to bowl at.  Essex had no answer to our attack, which was accurate and lethal on this pitch.  All the bowlers chipped in with Sophia pick of the bunch as we ran out comfortable winners.  Two wins out of two.

Match 3
Kent Under 11 Girls v Middlesex U11 Girls  (at Arundel Town CC)

Kent Under 11 Girls  55-5 (16 Overs) (Molly Davis 15, Izzy Cloke 13)

Middlesex U11 Girls 56-7 (10.1 overs) (Elodie Harbourne 2-8)

Result:  Middlesex Under 11 Girls Won by 3 Wickets
Another poor start, and this time we got bogged down and did not recover.  58 dot balls out of 96.  Only a flourish at the end gave any respectability to the score.  With nothing to play with, we had to get out their star player, bowl well and not make any errors in the field.  Although we bowled well, their star player scored 30.  Wickets tumbled at the other end and we still had a chance but our fielding could not back up our bowling and it cost us dearly. We had lost and the only way to win the festival was for us to beat Sussex and for Surrey to beat Middlesex in the final two matches, and hope that we had a better run rate.

Match 4
Kent Under 11 Girls v Sussex U11 Girls  (at Arundel Town CC)

Sussex U11 Girls 96-3 (16 overs) (Rochelle Beeson 2-1)

Kent Under 11 Girls  101-4 (11.4 Overs) (Izzy Cloke 25, Maddie Hughes 24, Annabelle Richards 15)

Result:  Kent Under 11 Girls Won by 6 Wickets
Although disappointed at the loss, we seemed to relax for the final game.  We also rang the changes so that everyone had a go which, on reflection, was not a sensible idea if we were trying to win.  Sussex took advantage of the change to our bowling personnel, and numerous wides, by posting a high score.

After three opening failures, Maddie and Izzy opened up – literally!  The ball was thrashed to all parts and we had 55 on the board in just five overs.  Things slowed slightly after they were both out in the same over, but Annabelle continued the onslaught and it was left to captain Stella to hit the winning runs with the help of a boundary overthrow. 

It was a nice way to finish the festival, and had we reached Sussex total in 9 overs, we may well have ended up winners.  Never mind.  Everyone played their part and we had a good time.