The Lady Llamas U/19 National Knockout cup team took on Richmond in front of a fantastic crowd at Park Lane on Tuesday evening in the Regional Final with a place on National Finals Day beckoning.

Richmond won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. The Llamas started incredibly well with Sophie and Bella moving through the first 6 overs costing just 29 runs and taking two wickets along the way. Sophie claimed both wickets, including the crucial scalp of Ivreen Dhaliwal (remember the name) and a massive thorn in our side over recent games, caught smartly by Harriet Jones and Lucy Harris held an incredible catch diving forward at mid off. The Llamas were now on top in the contest. Continuing to apply pressure the 9th over of the innings became a pivotal moment in the match. Play Cricket will suggest it was simply 1 over for just 5 runs without the loss of a wicket (which reads a quiet over without incident – never trust “play cricket”). It didn't register that the girls unfortunately missed three chances in the same over to break the partnership of Davies & Bowman whilst on a shaky 15 runs. The partnership would go on to yield 98 runs and be the decisive partnership of the game.

Like all good sides Richmond claimed the initiative and for the rest of the innings did not offer another chance (aside from Bowman dismissed for an excellent 65), however by that stage Richmond had progressed to 139 a total that would test the Reigate batting line up to its limits. They would be looking to Rosie, Kiera & Lucy to score heavily to challenge the total.

In the chase once again a very good side in Richmond showed that once they get on top the don’t “let you off” and so it proved. Their bowlers challenged the stumps and bowled with discipline and were ably supported by excellent fielding. Rosie was dismissed early, Kiera started brightly but fell without significant impact and Lucy also found the bowling hard to get away dismissed soon after. The Llamas were 60 for 5 after 12 overs and the dreams of a final in tatters.

It must also be said that good teams “stick together” and don’t give up and this is a good Reigate team. So, there were no surprises when a late flurry from Lauren (27) and Sophie (25) took the girls to a respectable 114 but still a nasty 25-run defeat.

A terrific cup run over for the girls and a fall at the final hurdle! That can be hard to take but an honest assessment would likely suggest that they “squeezed” every bit out of the team as a collective to make this stage and Richmond (having taken the momentum by heavily defeating the Lady Llamas last Sunday with a similar team), showed that they are simply a little better than the Llamas at this stage and richly deserve their opportunity to compete for a National Title.

No disgrace for these girls as they should be very proud to reach this stage and what they achieved this season. The club should also be proud of a terrific spectacle at Llama Land with a sizeable crowd and some very talented girls on show.

Stunning catches:

Catch 1: link
Catch 2: link
Catch 3: link