After a fantastic win against Millfield School in the semi-final, our Girls’ Cricket 1stXI had their final of the National 100 Ball Cup on Friday 28 June at the home of cricket, Lord’s.

The Marylebone Cricket Club opened every door and had gone out of their way to make the players and supporters feel welcome; tours of the pavilion and the opportunity to train in the nets allowed the girls to get used to their surroundings and relax before their final began.

Inserted on a perfect pitch by the Ipswich captain, Poppy (M) and Shristi (J) began the innings confidently; Poppy’s power balanced by Shristi’s elegant strokeplay. When Emma (K) replaced Poppy the runs continued to accumulate with a large total looking possible. A few quick wickets in the middle sets threatened an under-par score until some late clean striking from Bella (I) – hitting sixes into the Tavern stand – put us in a great position at 117-5 from our 100 balls. The Ipswich openers scored freely in the opening sets with the ball racing away across the perfect outfield, but by the time that both had been dismissed 70 runs were still required and the final was very much in the balance. With 24 needed off 20, and then 7 off the final 5 balls the batting team looked to be the favourites, but our girls in blue kept fighting and the wickets kept falling. In the final over, Ipswich chased three runs from the penultimate ball of their innings to claim victory in what was a thrilling and closely contested final.

What an incredible experience in a historic venue for our Bradfield cricketers after such a fantastic season. The girls' 1stXI have made (number of semi-finals and finals over the last five years) and we couldn’t be prouder of our Girls’ cricket programme. A number of those playing at Lord’s this summer will be returning to Bradfield next year to build upon the continuous progress made over the last few seasons.

The final was a remarkable performance that our girls can be proud of and one that the players and supporters will remember forever. Congratulations must also go to Ipswich School for their performance in an gripping final match of the season.