Following their success in the County 20/20, Fakenham under 13’s have now added the County pair’s title to their portfolio.
The final was played at the Swardeston Hilltops ground against Horsford.
Horsford won the toss and surprisingly decided to bat on a damp track. The first pair batted well and put on 36 losing 1 wicket to opening bowlers Harry B and Lloyd. The second and third pairs were blown apart by a sensational spell by Charlie. He took 6 wickets in his 4 overs for just 4 runs. He was backed up by Jack T ( 1 wicket ) and Jack B ( 3 Wickets ). The fielding was first class and Fakenham held all the catches Horsford gave. Harrison, Billy and Thomas all bowled well and at the end of Horsfords innings they had been restricted to 204.
Fakenham just had to bat sensibly to win. They did this with style and class. Everyone contributed to the 283 total which gave them a 79 run win.
Man of the Match was deservedly Charlie for his fantastic bowling figures.
Well done to all the team on the day and to all the players that have played in the league games through the season.
It has been a fantastic season for the Under 13’s and it’s been a pleasure to be their Manager.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the players for making my position enjoyable and to all the parents for their support and flexibility when it came to all the fixtures we played.
Dean Futter
Fakenham under 13’s Double Winners
Fakenham's Carter Cup wait is over
Fakenham won the Carter Cup for the first time yesterday as they defeated Horsford by 16 runs in a tense encounter at Manor Park.
Phil Gray produced a man-of-the-match 55 to elevate his team to 177 in the first innings, before Sanjaya Rodrigo (4-38) helped ensure that Chris Brown's hard-working 51 was in a losing cause for Horsford.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Fakenham started on the back foot. Caswell - who bowled with excellent lines throughout - deservedly had Sean Cooper caught behind in the sixth over and the next wicket wasn't far away.
Rodrigo was trapped lbw by Caswell, before Stephen Gray (1) nicked behind off the same bowler. Gayan Wijekoon was looking dangerous, but on 15 his thick edge off Nathan Perry-Warnes was caught well in the gully by Matthew Wilkinson. Harvey (8) soon followed as Caswell claimed his fourth victim to leave Fakenham struggling on 44-5. Joe Pipkin and Phil Gray negotiated the spin of Chris Brown and Ryan Findlay though and managed to make it to lunch with the sixth wicket intact.
After the break, they batted positively before Pipkin was stumped in the 44th over as he attempted to get after Findlay. Dunger (1) then fell to Brown as Fakenham looked to be struggling again on 135-7.
Knowing he had to up the rate, Phil Gray's knock then came to an end as he attempted to hit Wilkinson off his consistent line at the death. Piper (14) pushed the score on before Perry-Warnes claimed the final two wickets as Fakenham were dismissed for 176.
In reply, Horsford had Warnes (0) trapped lbw by Wijekoon in the third over. This brought Sabburg to the crease and he and Perry-Warnes looked to up the tempo with positive stroke play.
In a great spell for Fakenham, the crucial wicket of Sabburg was claimed by Angus Stuart before Atkinson (1) was the victim of a superb diving catch in the slips from Rodrigo and Perry-Warnes (15) lofted a shot to Cooper at mid on.
Wilkinson (0) soon followed, bringing skipper Brown to the crease. Both he and Caswell fought hard to rebuild the innings, reaching tea on 68-5. Runs were hard to come by though and Caswell eventually fell to the spin of Rodrigo for 22 as he looked to increase the rate.
Horsford's hopes then rested on Brown - who was struggling with a hand injury - but despite the occasional boundary he couldn't get on top of the impressive attack.
Matt Spencely (12) offered support before holing out off Rodrigo. Then, with Horsford requiring a run a ball from 10 overs, Brown was forced to retire hurt.
When Brown returned after the stumping of Smith (10) he was left with too much to do and was bowled by Stuart in the final over with his team 17 runs short.
It was a fantastic effort by Fakenham to win the game after the poor start they made with the bat and skipper Sean Cooper was happy for his team. He said: “It's a great time for the best bowling and fielding performance of the season. I think there are going to be quite a few beers consumed.”
See photos here