Rounders Tournament 2014

The rounders team set off this afternoon to Debenham High School to take part in the rounders tournament.

After a rocky start, losing 2 1/2 to 5 in our first game against Thorndon, we went from strength to strength, winning the next two matches easily and scoring over 20 rounders across the two games. Our fourth match was more closely fought, with Gislingham B losing by just half a rounder 3 1/2 to 3.

The fantastic performance in matches 2 and 3 put us top of the table in our group and saw us through to the semi-finals against Palgrave A. They were a strong team with some excellent batters and the win was just beyond our grasp, but we scored a creditable 3 rounders to their 5.

No trophy this year, but we have had a lot of fun and learnt a lot along the way.

Rounders Tournament

What a great bunch of kids we have at Earl Soham!

We set off to the rounders tournament this morning with hopes of bringing back the trophy for a second year. Unfortunately it was not to be, but I cannot fault the way the children played today and the great sportsmanship they displayed. We played five matches in total and faced some tough opposition from some of the teams. Our first match against Stonham was an excellent way to start, with a clear win and cutting the game short by getting out all the opposition's batters.

Our next match against Charsfield's A team was a more hard-fought affair. In this match we made some early fielding mistakes which allowed Charsfield to gain a lead, and despite picking up towards the end of the match, they beat us by half a rounder.

We faced Occold in our third match, and this was a comfortable win for the Earl Soham crew. It was in our fourth match of the morning that we faced our toughest opponents in the form of Mellis's B team. They were skilful fielders, and strong batters. Our team held their nerve even when faced with some indifferent umpiring (in my opinion) during the first half of the game. But when we came into bat, it was a hard job to score and Mellis sealed the win.

Our final match of the morning was versus Wortham, who were very sporting opponents. Overall, we won three out of our five matches - a worthy result.

I am enormously proud of all the team, and though we came third in our group and didn't make the play-offs, they were gracious losers and most importantly had a lot of fun.

Rounders Success: A Winning Combination!

This morning, the rounders team set off to Hartismere High School, Eye, to defend our title for the small schools Rounders Tournament. Last year we had come joint first, and this year we were determined to bring back the trophy.

We played a total of five games, against Wilby, Wortham, Dennington and Gislingham 1 and 2. The children played superbly, quickly sussing out the strengths and weaknesses of their opposition and playing a tactical game. Thanks to some excellent rounders and lots of half-rounders, we came out of each game we played victorious, often getting so many of the opposing team out that they ended up with a negative score. Some wonderful bowls, throws and catches from bowler, backstop and 2nd base, meant the other teams had little chance to score.

I was so proud of all of them when it was announced that they had won the tournament by a very convincing 12 points. Unfortunately, the school who had the trophy last year (and never passed it on to us, despite being joint first!) were not represented this year, so we were not able to bring the trophy home with us. I am assured, however, that we will receive it shortly. Maybe it will give us time to buy a trophy cabinet to house it in!

No Rounders Tonight

There will be no rounders club tonight as the pitch and playground are both too wet. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Rounders Team versus Staff

On Thursday afternoon, the rounders team took on the staff in what was to be a hard-fought match. The children played really well, fielding brilliantly and hitting a few good rounders. However, the staff fought back hard and thanks to a lot of outs won the day 12 1/2 - 2. It was a great game and everyone had lots of fun. Here are some of the highlights. Thanks to William for taking the photos. 

Rounders Success

This morning the rounders team set off to Thomas Mills High School for the annual small schools rounders tournament. There were a total of 15 teams taking part, but we faced four in our group. In the first game we played Worlingworth, who were good batters and quickly scored several rounders, despite some excellent fielding from Earl Soham. However, Worlingworth's fielding was not as good as ours and that enabled us to come back with several rounders of our own. It was a close run match, but their big hits won them the game by one rounder.

Next up, we faced Gislingham. We were now working well as a team and won convincingly 13-1. During this match, the sky turned dark and it began to rain. It seemed at first like a light shower, but the rain was persistent.

Our third match was more close run against Wortham, but we maintained our winning streak, despite the wet conditions and a chill wind making extremities cold: not good when trying to catch a rounders ball!

By this point, everyone was soaked through and there was talk of calling off the whole event. But the team had the taste of victory and wanted more.

Our final match was against Stoke Ash. For the first time, we were in bat first. After a shaky start on their part, the Stoke Ash team starting playing tactically. Realising that we were getting through to their second base to score, they put their best catcher there which caused us a few problems. However, some excellent batting saw some superb rounders.

The rain was unrelenting, and our spirits flagging as we started our fielding stint. The cold began to get to us and we started making mistakes. But the team did not give in; they supported one another, calling out encouragement to team-mates and our resolve returned. We got into a good rhythm and finally won the match.

The bad weather meant that a number of the teams had already left by this point, so there could be no semi-finals or finals. However, the scores were given for the groups and I am delighted to say we came first in our group!

Their win was thoroughly deserved. The children played brilliantly as a team and made me very proud. Well done to you all.