Having narrowly missed out on lifting the Medway Youth League Cup in 2022, Meopham's under 11 hardball team have gone even better in 2023, and the league title was confirmed following last Sunday's victory over High Halstow CC under 11.

A jubilant Meopham u11 manager Tim Baldwin penned the following report:

'Having won all but 1 of our fixtures we headed in to our final game of the season vs unbeaten High Halstow, knowing a win means an equal points tally being decided either by our vastly superior run rate or on a head to head basis. So this was a winner takes all clash. Whatever would happen it had been a good season but..... ya know, let’s be Meopham legends hey.

I was feeling very nervous, more nervous than watching Jofra bowl that super over but the kids didn’t seem to show it. Those nerves were lessened when their coach mentioned they were missing two of their best players. The look of glee on the faces of James and Lewis suggested they’d been listening in. Capt Ben as always won the toss and so we’d be chasing.

Their first pair were decent players but fine bowling by Sam, James and Ben, supported by a good catch and a direct hit run out from James meant they were on minus figures after their 4 overs. The good work from bowlers and fielders continued with few runs conceded and Anabel, Lewis and Ben taking a wicket a piece to keep the score in check. Joe behind the stumps gave absolutely nothing away. Special credit to James and Toby bowling into a fierce wind meant they gave away 3 wides from first three balls but courageously came back to bowl their next 9 on the money. A run out trying to take a bye to WK Joe on the last ball left them 71-6, A net score of 141. Highly doable.

Instructions: Be sensible, defend the good ones, no kamikaze running, get bat on ball. And they did. All of them. Nothing spectacular; just sensible, controlled, proper batting. Marvellous. Only lost 2 wickets – one was a 2 bounce no ball, one a ‘Mankad’. It left us ahead of their score with the last pair of Austen and Toby heading to the crease. Special instructions: “Tobes, just don’t step away, get that front foot to the ball; Austen no bonkers running please”. A few wides, a few runs and the dads on the boundary are studying the score board, “so we have to lose 3 wickets to lose”. Another wide, Austen, the league’s top scorer and destroyer of bowlers crunches another over the top; “so, we have to lose 4 wickets in 10 balls to lose”. Bang, another Austen 4, another handsome single from Toby; “we have to lose 5 wickets in 8 balls”. Smash, crunch from Austen. “We’ve won the league”.

106-2. Net 196. Victory by 55. What a performance. All those nerves and they just went out and executed it like it was no big deal. Just ‘job done’. Special mention to the other players not playing today who more than did their bit; in particular Alfie and George G, as well as Kara and Isaac for their celebrity appearance.The future’s bright for Meopham CC'

The victorious youngsters celebrated after training on Wednesday with some superb pizzas, courtesy of MEOPHAM PIZZAS (!), highly recommended!