Croydon Schools' U15s team retained the Hobbs Trophy at The Oval on Friday after a well-earned win over South London Schools, writes David Lomas.
Surrey captain Mark Butcher presented the trophy and medals but Croydon had to win the hard way, having made a disastrous start, being 36-6 at one stage of the 40-over encounter.
However, Michael Ridley came to the rescue with a defiant innings of 81, including four sixes, and he was well supported by Aman Shinwari, who made a whirlwind cameo of 22 to take Croydon to 176 all out.
South London's innings got off to a poor start as they struggled to 39-5 off 16 overs.
They continued to slump and were at one point 54-8 before staging a mini-recovery and reaching 104-8 off 31 overs.
However, Jack Coles, of Archbishop Tenison's, steadied Croydon's nerves with two wickets in his seventh over to seal South London's fate and earn Croydon a 72-run victory.
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