RYDE were victorious in the inaugural girls' competition in the Isle of Wight Cricket Board Junior Leagues, while Ventnor celebrated double success, claiming the U12 and U14 boys' titles in an action-packed finals night.

The evening began with Ryde U15 girls facing Arreton Rebels and, after just two deliveries, Ryde struck — a sharp catch and early wicket. 

Arreton steadied the ship, but a wicket and run out within the space of three balls reduced them to 41-3. 

Good steady batting saw Arreton reach a competitive total, but a run out and another wicket saw them finish on 86-5.

Ryde's chase literally got off to a smashing start, with 27 runs coming off the second over — one of their batsmen retiring after just seven deliveries. 

Arreton did their best to pull back the run rate, but another retiree saw Ryde get ever closer to their target. 

A fantastic caught and bowled with the score on 77 gave a glimmer of hope, but Ryde claimed victory by five wickets with seven balls remaining.

In the U12 boys' final, Ventnor elected to field first against Cowes Catchers, and some extremely tight bowling put pressure on the batters from the off.
Just 15 runs came from the opening four overs, which included a run out. 
The runs did pick up, with a retiree on 20, but Ventnor were able to restrict Cowes Catchers to 69-3.
In reply, Ventnor got ahead of the run rate early on and reached their target with three balls remaining to claim a six-wicket victory.

The final match of the season saw Ventnor's two U14 sides take on each other. 

The A team opted to bat first and suffered a double blow midway through the innings, with a run out and other bowled, leaving them at 47-2 after five overs. 

However, a composed 26 not out and a fine 20 retired from just six balls saw the runs begin to flow, amassing 121-4 — punctuated by a caught and bowled and a run out.

Ventnor B made a decent enough start in their chase, but a run out saw them soon start to fall behind the rate. 

A fine 21 retired, a run out, a catch and a wicket soon followed, as Ventnor B finishing on 95-4, to finish 26 runs short.