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DERBYSHIRE CRICKET BOARD Derbyshire Age Groups – Boys Under 11s |
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DERBYSHIRE CRICKET BOARD Derbyshire Age Groups – Boys Under 11s |
            
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Derbyshire U11 Boys NEWS Thursday 2nd August 2012 Shrewsbury U11 Festival
However there were many individual and team highlights. Every festival a player emerges from the outside lane and onto the podium. This year it was Joshua Lacey who fulfilled the all round promise of last year with two sublime unbeaten half centuries (51* and 66*), added to which he bowled with confidence and contributed to a handful of dismissals with his fielding. In silver would be AzaanAfzal who on batsman friendly wickets consistently was our strike bowler – his best return of 5/33 against Huntingdonshire also earning an assist to our newest coach Matt Sanderson who helped ‘Affie the Offie’ to find his offie again! It is hard to select a bronze medal but Joshua Vaughan for his 78* in the same game just takes it. Notable mentions to ‘Nearly’ Nils Priestley for 53* against Shropshire aligned to his strong contribution with the ball, in the field and as captain of the 20/20 team and to Alex Cooper for his defiant 40 whilst others lost their heads alongside positive leadership, bowling and fielding through the week. Everyone though played their part with Archie ‘Stumpcam’ Shannon taking 3/17 against The Grange and memorably sending the stumps cartwheeling against Berkshire, Joe Newnham his continuous improvement through the season earning him wicket keeper of the festival award and Luke Baddeley’s 22* contribution to an outstanding 100 partnership with Joshua Lacey on the first day. ‘Bad Man Bill’ Ali played some cameo innings at important times, Joe ‘The Prof’ Whitfield took wickets and showed off his improved fielding, not to mention his potential as a future cricket coach! Reece ‘Sherlock’ Holmes gave everything as a captain, fielder, bowler and batsman. Will Kilgour not only had his best set of games with the ball but showed a new side of his game with the bat as well as taking some outstanding catches. Dan ‘Rock DJ’ Jones was a bundle of energy when batting and fielding. Archie Moore never gave up with bat, ball and in the field, improving every game he played. Darren Rider made his Derbyshire debut and kept very well getting his first county dismissals. Off the field in the Olympic village the boys quickly made friends with the Shropshire team and enjoyed several events with them, most notably the mass football game on Wednesday night, which I am reliably informed Derbyshire won on the tenth penalty! Swimming was enjoyed a couple of times – well let’s call it Diving and Sando’s bombing will live in the memory of the lifeguard. Bedder cricket only resulted in one light being broken – an improvement on last year. And Woody was unstoppable at Yard cricket. The Olympics on Friday evening ended up more like Triathlon but by that stage the batteries were definitely starting to run low. A fantastic week of cricket played in glorious sunshine in a beautiful setting on fabulous wickets. It doesn’t get better than this. The boys were fantastic company on and off the pitch all week. In particular the way they bonded and made friends with other teams I’m sure contributed to their enjoyment and to being awarded the ‘spirit of cricket’ award by the umpires. This award is always welcome however next year we will be ‘going for gold’ at the same time. It is not all about winning, but playing for the team and wearing the Derbyshire badge with pride are both also important. This group of boys have great potential but need to develop a greater team ethic on the pitch and some good old fashioned ‘dog’, if they are to match their peers in other age groups. Fortunately the talent is there and we look forward to seeing it shine over the remainder of the season. To end thank you to the boys for the excellent behaviour, to Woody for his coaching and ever present support (above and beyond the usual call of duty), to Sando for doing a great job filling in, to the parents, family and friends for your ever-positive support and finally to Andy Barnard and Shrewsbury School for another wonderful festival. We look forward to returning next year. Sunday 13th May 2012 Derbyshire U11s show some steel
John Sookias - U11 Manager
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Derbyshire U11 Boys Squad 2013 Manager- Roger Bolstridge; rogeeofacc@tiscali.co.uk 07763 118484 Coach - Jake Needham; jake.needham@derbyshireccc.com 07584 321641 Players Harry Bennett Joseph Collier Oscar Gaunt Adam Green William Hobson George Holden Nathan Jackson Jamie Kelly Danyal Khan Ben Kingham Ben Porter Tom Robinson William Thompson Harry Whitworth |
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Derbyshire U11 Boys 2011 Derbyshire under 11’s Prosper at the Shrewsbury Festival! 2011
Monday 25th July – Arrived at Shrewsbury School at approx 9.30 am for my first experience of the cricket festival. I was met by what seemed like hundreds of boys in a variety of training gear, blazers, shirts and ties and various other fashionable items. The mood was one of excitement for the players and trepidation for many of the parents who would be leaving their boys for the first time. The site is massive and the cricket facilities second to none, what a place to play cricket for an 11 year old! The scene was well and truly set for the boys to do battle for their counties. Following the managers meeting, the boys and staff were shown to their rooms in Oldhams House, what excitement as bags and cases were scattered everywhere. As soon as all the boys had found their rooms and dropped off their belongings they quickly got changed into their whites and we were off again for the official team photos, I guess in truth it was more like being celebrities!
With photographs
completed, on we moved to pitch 1 to play our first game against Shropshire;
the morning had been like a rollercoaster ride, but how would the cricket
be? A brief team talk and a warm up followed before Derbyshire Captain Alfie Gleadall won the toss and decided to take first knock on what looked a perfect pitch, with the sun beaming down, everything looked set fair.
The Shropshire bowler’s nerves got the better of them, as a fair few wides were bowled and the Derbyshire openers BCL and Ben Wright got off to a very solid start with 100 coming up in the 20th over with no wickets lost, things were really looking good! Then came the drinks break and the Shropshire bowler’s found their length and started to eat away at the Derbyshire batting, only 33 runs were scored from the next 10 over’s but more importantly Derbyshire lost 3 wickets BCL (44), Ben Wright (26) & Josh Andrews (5). With the momentum swinging towards Shropshire, Gleadall and Ahmed came to the crease and promptly started scoring runs, they took the score towards 200 before both were out Alfie Gleadall (43), Raza Ahmed (21), it was left for Aldis and Kimmitt to take the score passed 200 on what had been a very hectic morning! Following a well earned lunch, Shropshire started their reply. James Aldis soon had his first wicket of the festival when Birks held onto a catch at square leg. With only White and Barnett standing firm against a determined Derbyshire attack, it wasn’t long before the Shropshire innings fell apart, all the Derbyshire bowlers doing their job superbly well! When Kimmitt bowled last man Topper, Shropshire were all out for 122. A Derbyshire win by 82 runs was well earned particularly after such a busy first day. Two things to mention from the victory: the standard of the Derbyshire fielding was superb and Billy Askey standing in behind the stumps for the unwell Nathan Snookes had an excellent game, catching one and taking a very sharp throw from Gleadall to run out Furnival. James Aldis in action
After dinner and the boys still cock a hoop following their victory showed no signs of tiredness and they launched themselves into a very competitive game of rounder’s followed by table tennis and yard cricket – what more cricket you ask! With one or two of the boys now flagging it was time for bed! Following a good nights sleep all the boys were up by 7.30am and ready for more cricket in the yard before breakfast! Ready for Tuesday’s fixture against Berkshire the boys moved to pitch 3 with the sun once again pouring down on the beautiful grounds,
Berkshire won the toss and decided to bat. As is now becoming normal with Derbyshire they collected early wickets, (four to be precise) to leave Berkshire on 46 for 4 in the 12th over. Slow progress was made by the Berkshire batsmen and they struggled to 107 for 7 from 30 over’s. With the innings seemingly faltering and Derbyshire in total control Malik & Maskell came together and they started to strike the ball really well and the Derbyshire bowlers and fielders were visibly tiring in the warm sunshine. Boundaries started to arrive and singles were being turned into two’s with great regularity and the score rattled up to 187 for 7 at the end of the 40th over. Berkshire’s players and supporters were ecstatic at their team’s turnaround. Derbyshire’s players on the other hand were looking disconsolate and dejected at their failure to hammer home their earlier advantage – but credit must go to Berkshire for a wonderful fight back!
When the Derbyshire reply started they soon lost BCL, but then Wright and Snookes put on 55 before Snookes was run out for 27. When Wright was out for 20 Derbyshire still required a further 100 runs from 19 over’s. Gleadall (54) and Ahmed (49no) batted very sensibly and with great skill and concentration they took Derbyshire to within 5 runs of their victory target before Gleadall was run out, Ahmed completed the match with two boundaries and Derbyshire had won a highly entertaining game of cricket with 21 balls to spare. Derbyshire’s earlier despondency had now disappeared as glum faces had been replaced by huge smiles following the successful run chase. Captain Alfie Gleadall (centre) congratulates Harvey Rhodes and Matthew Birks
The boys relaxed in the evening and took their turn in the swimming pool, only one word can be used to sum up the swimming session – Amusing! As you can imagine after such an eventful day the boys were a little hyperactive at bed time and getting to sleep for some wasn’t the easiest of pastime! Wednesday morning came and with it came some groggy faces! The final round of group matches were about to be played with Derbyshire taking on Grange CC from Scotland. Derbyshire were asked to bat first by their opponents on what was another lovely sunny morning. BCL and Josh Andrews put on 77 for the first wicket before BCL was LBW to Dickinson for 19. Josh Andrews playing his best innings for Derbyshire was finally out for 44 with the score on 141. Snookes took the attack to the Grange bowlers with 61 before he was run out sacrificing his wicket for the team in search of extra runs. The Grange bowlers had bowled well and in the main contained the Derbyshire batters in a very good total of 209 for 3. The score looked formidable, but would it be good enough against a team that had scored over 290 runs on the previous day? Once again Derbyshire got the early breakthrough when Ahmed had McCreath caught behind without scoring. Mullins and the Dickinson then set about the Derbyshire attack putting on 97 excellent runs before Mullins was out, Dickinson soon followed for a sublime 53 and the score now stood on 107 for 3 with the game finely in the balance. With still over an 100 runs required from the remaining 12 over’s Crawley and Hay-Smith put on 52 runs in 6 over’s before Griffin had the latter caught by Askey, but the impressive Crawley still remained at the crease, when he was finally out with the score on 183 he had hit 8 fours and 3 colossus 6’s in his fine innings of 57! The match was swinging like a pendulum, now Derbyshire smelt victory again as still 28 runs were needed from 4 over’s. As the panic button was pressed Grange lost 2 more wickets and with 17 runs required in 2 over’s surely Derbyshire would hang on? The left handed Appleton then went into overdrive hitting 16 from the penultimate over leaving only one run required from the final over, this was achieved off the 2nd ball and Grange had won a famous victory by 3 wickets.The Derbyshire boys were obviously distraught at losing the game, but they should feel proud of their own performances in what had been a thrilling game of cricket! With their previous 2 wins and the points gained in this defeat Derbyshire topped the group and would play Hunts in Fridays 1st place play-off. The evening was spent in the indoor nets preparing for the 20 over games that were to be played on Thursday. What a great facility!
Following yesterdays disappointment Derbyshire were ready to face Hunts in the 20 over challenge. Hunts were put in by Derbyshire and struggled for runs; they only managed 92 with Ahmed, Rigby, Rhodes and Griffin being the Derbyshire wicket takers. The only slight blot on the Derbyshire performance was the amount of extras that were conceded, particularly the large amount of wides that were bowled. In reply Derbyshire were soon in trouble when they were reduced to 31 for 3, Aldis was then out but a fine 40 run partnership between Gleadall and Hardwick saw them home. Hardwick scoring 13 no with a couple of sweetly struck boundaries and Gleadall finished on 28 no and his good run of form continued with Derbyshire winning by 6 wickets. Alfie Gleadall in 20/20 action
Next up in the 20 over matches was Shropshire who had earlier beaten Staffordshire. Derbyshire batted first and once again lost two early wickets but Gleadall and Ahmed got the scoreboard moving, this was until Ahmed was unluckily run out for a splendid 35. Derbyshire lost 3 more wickets but the impressive Gleadall continued his innings and finished on 59 no taking the Derbyshire total to 146 for 6. Final note from the Derbyshire innings - BCL coming in late down the order played the shot of the day as he came down the wicket to the final delivery and crashed it through the covers for 4 glorious runs!
It had been another good day and once again there had been some excellent fielding by the boys. Following dinner and sorting out of their bags and rooms before Friday’s final game and departure, the evening was once again spent playing a mixture of yard cricket and another session at the swimming pool to relax after another hard but enjoyable day. The team celebrate another wicket
Last day and sadly I had to leave at 9.15am to attend a friends wedding back in Derbyshire. My thoughts were obviously with the boys as they embarked on the final play off game against Huntingdonshire.
Raza Ahmed in jubilant mood as Derbyshire win the Festival
Huntingdonshire as their opponents had done earlier struggled for runs. Four of their first five batters scored only six runs between them as Aldis 2 for 27, Ahmed 1 for 29 and Gleadall 2 for 16 all bowled well. Wood was finally out for 39 when Kimmitt got in on the act and bowled the Hunts opener. Late resistance from Stevens 21 and Craig 23 no brought the scores close, but with over 20 runs required from the final over, Aldis kept his nerve and the Derbyshire supporters and players could breathe a sigh of relief as Derbyshire ended up winners by 15 runs. Rhodes, Birks and Hardwick all contributed well with the ball in the victory and the whole Derbyshire squad deserve a large pat on the back for their efforts during the very enjoyable week. Derbyshire had won the under 11 trophy for the second successive year! Handshakes all round following Derbyshire's win over Hunts
Fortunately, I was able to keep in contact with Gareth throughout the game via text messages and though a little nervous myself a times, I always had faith that they would do it!
Derbyshire had been well supported right throughout the week and a big thank you goes to all the parents and grand parents etc for their continued support and help with scoring etc, it is much appreciated by us all. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Gareth for being very supportive throughout the week and to JD for coming down on the final day. I hope this week will hold great memories to all the boys and their families and is something that can be looked back on with great fondness in the years to come. A final thank you must go to the boys themselves for all their hard work throughout the week and to the way in which they played the game of cricket. Well that’s Shrewsbury over for 2011, what an exhilarating and enjoyable week! Andrew Cooper Derbyshire under 11’s Manager
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To
come fourth in the Shrewsbury is not as big a blow as coming fourth in the
Olympics! The week at the festival had it’s fair share of highlights both on
and off the pitch. Although we were unable to defend the title won by
Derbyshire the last two years, we only missed out on our place in the final
due to the intricacies of the bonus points system that meant our 2 wins and
1 draw generated less points that 2 draws and a win. In the first four days
we played some good cricket whilst running out of steam on the home straight
on the Friday. For the record P6 W3 L2 D1 was just below the target we had
set ourselves.
The
day had started positively with Reece Holmes (11) and Joshua Vaughan (27)
confidently putting on 38 for the first wicket. However three quick wickets
stalled this progress. Enter Nils Priestley and Bilal Ali. Coping
with accurate Northants bowling Nils played a mature and intelligent
innings, ending up on 44 not out at the close. He was ably supported by
Bilal Ali (16) making a confident debut for the county. The pair put on 74
for the fourth wicket, which just left Alex Cooper to support his Lullington
team mate to the close of the innings. 148-4 off 40 overs on this day was a
good score.
Shropshire in their
reply soon lost their first wicket when the accurate Rhodes had opener
Barrett caught by Gleadall for 0. Shropshire then started to gain confidence
and through good batting they got themselves up with the run rate until
spinner Adam Hardwick claimed two quick wickets. Once the partnership
between Humes and Waterworth had been broken, Shropshire were always
struggling to get back on top of the run rate. Rhodes claimed another wicket
and there were two further run outs before Kimmitt bowled Davies for 21.
Derbyshire won by 24 runs as Shropshire closed on 122 for 8. For the first
time this week during the Shropshire innings the weather turned quite cloudy
and a few spots of rain appeared in the sky and umbrellas were pulled from
bags and put up to protect the faithful supporters. Fortunately the rain
didn’t last long, although it remained cloudy the dry weather continued! 
Derbyshire
were asked to bat first by their opponents and on a dull overcast morning,
the conditions were always likely to help the bowling side and so it proved
as Derbyshire struggled for runs. Josh Andrews, Nathan Snookes and Raza
Ahmed all failed to make double figures. Gleadall 28, BCL 13 and Kimmitt
with 21 were Derbyshire’s main contributors, but at 112 for 7 it was left
for Rhodes 11no and Birks 10no to steer Derbyshire through to a very
respectable score of 154 for 8. Smith was the pick of the bowlers for Hunts
with 3 for 17.
