Over 5 weeks in October/ November the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation has ran an indoor softball competition at Willows Sports Centre. This followed on from the success of the league that was ran in Feb/March. A double round robin format meant each team was to play 10 games each. The teams were Belper Meadows/ Ilkeston Rutland/ Belper Amateurs/ Hilton/ Riddings and Long Eaton. After the first 4 weeks all teams have played 8 matches and the league was very finely poised before the last week, with 3 teams in contention to win!
Going into the final round of fixtures there were lots of permutations for the top 3. We had to see how it all played out. As the final afternoon unfolded it became clear the winner would not be decided by total league points! That theory was proved right because all 3 teams (Belper Amateurs, Belper Meadows and Ilkeston Rutland) were tied on 21 out of a possible 30 points. This meant the league would be decided on total runs scored, and so it was Belper Meadows who took the title! Their consistent batting over the 5 weeks proving to be decisive.
Following the final game Dave Moore thanked all the teams for taking part and supporting the competition and Willows Sports Centre for doing a great job hosting the event. Dave then presented the winner’s trophy to Belper Meadows and the celebrations began!
Three teams had an opportunity to win the competition on the final week however the competition was very closely contested throughout, with all teams looking like beating everyone else. Results were never certain and this shows how good the standard was as well as how much everyone improved over the 5 weeks. This competition has seen 6 teams enter, registering over 70 players to take part has been a great opportunity for women who participated in our summer softball offer to further showcase their skills as well as prepare for the coming season. The indoor format was new to some of the players but they have adapted their skills very impressively over the 5 weeks. It has been a very exciting and enjoyable competition!
What has been great to see is the amount of support each team has been bringing with them. It is very encouraging for the women’s game that this competition has been so well supported and shows that the clubs involved are placing some focus on their women and girls sections.
Congratulations Belper Meadows!
