A new season always means that a group of young cricketers start playing 'proper' cricket for the very first time. At Twickenham, that's always the U9s and the 'proper' cricket comes in the form of eight-a-side pairs' cricket.

So, on 5 May 2024 eight Twickenham players stepped out to make their cricketing debuts. The weather was perfect, Hampton Hill's Bushy Park ground provided a lovely backdrop and all eight really came to the party and put in excellent performances. A 102 run triumph was way beyond want anyone was really expecting.

Captain Nico Morgan won the toss and had a bowl. The start was then delayed for a few minutes as a troop of deer decided to meander across the square. Once they'd been gently shooed on, the U9s got down to business.

Adil Mahmood and Rupert Calarco did well with the bat for the hosts, but it was the Twickenham bowlers who caught the eye. Stan Hough took 3-4 in his two overs, whilst Jaden Mate, Vince Hough and skipper Morgan all conceded a miserly two runs from their respective 12 balls each. With Raf Foster spinning some nice webs and Adyan Qaiser picking up a couple of wickets at the end, Hampton Hill found themselves closing with 194 on the board.

Twickenham lost a wicket in the first over, but their batters soon got into the swing of things. Harvir Ghere really caught the eye, hitting a big six in his 19 whilst Vince Hough (11) and Adyan Qaiser (13) also got into double-figures. Faris Iqbal saw the side home nicely at the end. The Ts subsequently ended on a mighty impressive 296.

The Ts won convincingly, but respect due to Hampton Hill. Their players kept at it, even when times got a bit tricky.

The U9s move on to face Wycombe House (on Sunday morning) on Green next week.