YORKSHIRE SCHOOLS’ CRICKET ASSOCIATION ANNUAL REPORT 2013
Another eventful and enjoyable year with some exciting performances at the lower age group levels with the under 11’s excelling themselves. In terms of weather most fixtures were completed with minimal interference. The under 10’s, 11’s and 13’s all won their Festivals as did the 14B team at both Scarborough and Wolverhampton. The 90th Anniversary match was staged at Scarborough’s magnificent facility on North Marine Road against Lancashire 15’s followed by a most enjoyable celebration dinner attended by parents and officials from both sides. A total of 190 matches were played at County level. For next season an under 10 “B” team will be introduced to accommodate the increasing number of aspiring young players.
“15 A” – P13 W9 L2 D1 Ab1– A satisfying and eventful season but without the success we might have achieved albeit with a number of highlights. For the first time an under 15 player Matthew Fisher (Easingwold School) was unavailable due to commitments at a higher level, indeed the highest level with selection for Yorkshire’s first eleven in the Yorkshire Bank 40 over League against Leicestershire at Scarborough to become the youngest post war county cricketer at 15 yrs & 212 days. He spent the season with Yorkshire’s second eleven and academy team. The season started well with the team winning the northern section of the ECB County Cup with 7 victories and one “no result” to earn a home tie in the quarter final against Staffordshire. Even allowing for the team not being at full strength there was a woeful batting performance in chasing a modest total of 169 losing by 39 runs with 9 overs remaining. A great opportunity missed to meet up with Surrey again who won the trophy with overs to spare. Other than that one regrettable lapse of concentration there were some very good performances with 7 boys selected for the north team at the Bunbury Festival - Ed Morrison (St.Wilfred’s Cath HS), Mustafa Rafique (Roundhay HS) and Jonathan Read (Lady Lumley’s Sch) put in some very good performances whilst Ed Barnes (King James’ Knaresboro), James Brown (Winterhill Comp), Yassar Imtiaz (Royd’s Hall Sch) & James Logan (Freeston Academy) went on to make significant contributions in the Academy team. Yassar captained the County side as well as the north team and secured the “most refreshing approach” award at the Bunbury Festival with Ed Barnes taking the “best bowler” award and a scholarship to attend the National Performance Centre at Loughborough. Our 90th anniversary match against Lancashire was played as a time game and following frequent interruptions for rain was narrowly lost. Team Manager Andy Rowsell with CoachesAndrew Chadwick & Richard Damms
“15 B” – P14 W11 D1 L2 – An excellent season with good performances from a many of the boys. Daniel McLean (Worksop Coll) flourished as captain and performed magnificently to gain his CountyCap for his all round contribution. Sam Wigglesworth (Outwood Sch) took the batting honours with more than 500 runs. Matthew Taylor (St.Thomas A’Beckett Sch) won the Fox Trophy “most improved player” award. Ryan Gaughan (MaltonSchool) gained the bowling award for his persistency and accuracy. On the southern tour there was a good win over London (2 dayer) and a close encounter with a strong Middlesex team in another 2 day fixture. On the way home there was an excellent win over a strong Northants side. In total 24 boys played in the team which showed how many were knocking on the door for selection. Team Manager Bob Wincer (Woodhouse Grove) & Coach Peter Hepworth
“14 A” – P23 W15 L7 Ab1 – The season was somewhat disappointing with a lack of success in the ECB County Cup and at the Taunton Festival. James Pick (Driffield Sch) was a very capable captain and scored 788 runs. Sam Woodcock (Brinsworth Comp) won the Brian Willey Player of the Year Trophy with a number of good returns. Harry Brook (Ilkley GS) with 818 runs took the batting award and following this success is now on the YorkshireAcademy and performing well. Matthew Rees (Kettlethorpe HS) with 28 wickets won the bowling award. The most improved player was Adam Ahmed (Belle Vue Boys). At the Scarborough Festival the team won 4 out of 5 matches but finished as runners up. There was a good win over Lancashire and also against the Yorkshire “B” team who actually won the Festival. Team Manager/Coach Tony Pickersgill, Asst.Manager/Coach Jack Bethel.
“14 B” – P26 W19 L5 Ab2 – A very satisfying season with success at the Midlands Festival undefeated, winning the trophy against some very good ‘A’ teams. The Scarborough Festival was also won where the final match was on the main ground at North Marine Road.This was a fantastic day for Yorkshire, the ‘A’ team playing the ‘B’ team with the ‘B’ team winning the trophy.Archie Scott (Pudsey Crawshaw) captained the side very well, scoring 501 runs and taking 29 wickets. The batting award went to Will Huffer (St.Peter’s Sch) and the bowling award to Ted Patmore (St.Peter’s Sch) Team Manager/Coach Tony Pickersgill, Coaches Bren Terry, Adrian Grayson and John Terry
“13 A” – P18 W10 D2 L3 Ab3 – This was a successful season, since more matches were won and fewer lost than in previous years. A highlight of the season was winning the Taunton Festival. Success was largely due to the quality of our bowling which generally proved equal to the task.The batting, however, was consistently fragile and until late in the season the ground fielding was of a poor standard. Symptomatic of our strengths and weaknesses was the game against a strong Lancashire batting line up at Southport, when we bowled and fielded magnificently but could not achieve a total of 135 against modest bowling. Player of the Year (Harry Lindley Trophy) went to Rishi Bhuskute (Crossley Heath HS), the batting award to James Wharton (Holmfirth HS)and the bowling award to Alec Drury (Driffield HS).The most promising newcomer was Wahab Mirza (SamuelListerSchool).The team was ably led by Luke Kilby (St John Fisher HS). Team Manager Keith Dickson & Coach Martin Kellaway
“13 B” – P21 W13 L8 – The Taunton Festival was a highlight and great experience for the boys finishing a commendable 3rd of 6 against other County “A” teams. In fact, in 12 of the 21 matches played throughout the season the opposition was provided by County “A” teams. The general strength of the side was in the bowling department but the batting lacked consistency apart from Nick Lowe (Birkdale Sch) who took the batting award with 586 runs. The bowling attack was ably led by Mohsin Ahmed (High Storrs Sch) and Tim Turner (HorburyAcademy) but the award went to leading wicket taker Ali-Hasan Ahmed (Bingley GS) with 35. Eitan Litvin (Grammar School at Leeds) had a very good season behind the stumps with 30 victims (18ct/12st). The team worked hard on their game and improved as the season progressed. The team spirit, sense of humour and camaraderie were second to none. There was an award to Tim Turner as “most promising newcomer”. Team Manager/Coach Dick Whaley & Asst Manager Linda Whaley
“12 A” – P15 W12 L2 Ab1 – It was a very satisfying season with only 2 narrow defeats. There were some excellent performances at the Taunton Festival which was a good experience for the boys finishing 3rd due to an inability to bowl opponents out so missing additional bonus points. There was some good cricket played with James Wharton (Holmfirth HS) as captain scoring 378 runs. Nick Hood (Sacred Heart RC Sch) an outstanding fielder also scored well with 370 runs whilst Dominic Leech (NunthorpeAcademy), Vikram Sharma(Grammar School at Leeds),Harrison Quarmby(Crossley Heath Sch) and Harry Harding (StokesleySchool) were the pick of the bowlers. George Hill (MalsisSchool) contributed well as opening bowler/aggressive bat/excellent fielder. Team Manager Simon Horkin & Coach Tom Smith
“12 B” – P14 W6 L7 Ab1 - A mixed season in terms of performance with a poor start and only one win in 5 matches but a much improved second half to the season produced five wins. The Bedford tour brought a much improved performance to finish level top with Bedford in the group stage withBedfordgoing through on head to head where they beat Notts in the final. Yorkshire beat Lancashire comfortably for 3rd place. There were notable performances on tourby Charlie Rawlins (HymersCollege), Atta ur Rehman (Tong Sch), Harrison Wood (Lady Lumley’s Sch) and Ismael Nazir (Kings Science Acad). The bowlers performed well with good returns from Harrison Quarmby (Crossley Heath Sch) and Daniel Ward (RyedaleSchool).Whilst the batting lacked application to play long innings there were glimpses of promise fromSeb Grace (St.Martin’s, Ampleforth), Nathan Taylor (Brinsworth Comp) andSam Davison (BirkdaleSchool). Team Manager Ghulam Rafique & Coach Roy Chapman
“11 A” – P17 W16 L0 Ab1 – Without doubt, a phenomenal and record breaking season. This team was exceptional, reliable and entertaining with the bat, accurate, consistent and penetrative with the ball and outstanding in the field with 44 catches and 15 run outs – in fact a glowing example to all of our squads. No other County side came within touching distance of this team of players ably led by yet another talented member of the Goldthorp family Eliot (Benton Park Sch). The Taunton Festival was won for the second year in emphatic style by completely outplaying in all departments every other team. With the bat Matthew Revis (Ilkley GS) established a record unlikely to be beaten with 972 plus further runs for the under 12’s taking him over the 1,000 mark, more than any other player at any level in Yorkshire Schools history for which a special presentation was made at the annual dinner. His occupation of the crease did result in a lack of opportunity for many of his colleagues but good support was forthcoming from a number of players contributing to eight century partnerships with Finlay Bean (Ripon GS) his regular opening partner scoring 500 runs. The bowling was no less spectacular. The attack was led by Lewis O’Donnell 14w (Ripon GS) and Sam Barraclough 13w (BBGAcademy) with Matthew Revis 12w ably assisting when required. However, it was the spinners Harry Sullivan (St.Theresa’s Primary) as an under 10 who took 41 wkts in 118.2 overs at 1.77 runs per over – an outstanding return and Ryan Patel (Grammar School at Leeds) as his spinning twin with 24 wkts who caused the opposition most difficulty. Wicket-keeping duties were shared between Harry Duke (8ct/6st) (QEGS) and Finlay Bean (3ct/6st). Certainly, it would be worth paying to watch this squad in the coming months. Team Manager/Coach Dick Whaley & Asst Manager Linda Whaley
“11 B” – P15 W9 L4 Ab2 – The season started with four district games which enabled the selectors to have a good look at all 22 players in each match. The team progressed and improved during the season and team spirit developed well. The side was captained by Silas Grace (Ampleforth Coll) who led from the front with some notable performances including a chanceless 120* in the first match. Leading bowlers were Inez Younis 17w, James Mukherjee 13w, Aidan Langley 11w and Silas Grace 10w. Team Manager Mark Loker & Coach Phil Chapman.
“10” – P7 W5 L1 Ab 1 – A most successful season with excellent victories over Lancashire twice, Warwickshire & Leicestershire plus two wins over Staffs and Shropshire at Repton Festival with the final a victim of the weather. The one loss was against the 11b team. Star performer was Sam Elstone with 105*, 47* and 50. Romir Singh 50*and Harry Sullivan 49 & 32. Cooper SmithDan Ford both scored 50’s at Repton. Team Manager Steve Holliday & Coach Simon Kellett
“19”– P6 W6 – The 44thfestival week at St.Peter’s School saw the under 19’s record a clean sweep with victories over Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Lancashire, MCC and Durham and a good win too over XL Club at Castleford. The Laurie Bennett Trophy winner was Dylan Budge, voted by the players. Team Manager Ian Frost (Woodhouse Grove) & Coach Glenn Roberts (SilcoatesSchool)
The Association again received widespread financial support from a number of sources. Long term main sponsors are The P & A Partnership (Poppleton & Appleby) and the John Featherstone Memorial Foundation (Headingley Bookstall) along with The Friends of Yorkshire Schools who contributed with gift aid. There were 163schools affiliated. The annual presentation dinner at the Grammar School at Leeds was attended by 170 boys, parents, officials and guests. County Captain Andrew Gale was guest speaker and made the presentations. Support for the Association was also forthcoming from the YCC Charitable Youth Trust, Patrons Nick Elliot, Trevor & Jennifer Bryan, Philip & Patsy Akroyd, David Crowther, Kevin & Sarah Grace, George Abbey, Paul & Karen Budge and Steve Oldham along with a number of others including parents who made significant financial contributions. Our umpires, coaches and officials also gave unstintingly of their time along with parents who do so much in transporting the boys to the various matches. We are also fortunate in being able to call upon the many Clubs who so freely place their facilities at our disposal. The YSCA fixture booklet was again very well received and a special scorecard/brochure produced for the 90th anniversary match against Lancashire at Scarborough containing the many famous names who have appeared in the annual fixture dating back to 1930 with the score reading won 28, lost 13, drawn 41, abandoned 8. The number of entries from Yorkshire into ESCA national competitions was as usual the highest of any County and reflects great credit on the officials who administer each of the County competitions. The u15 T20 drew 100 entries (organized by Gary Hebden), the u14 Lord’s Taverners 76 entries run by Ian Gould (AshvilleCollege). The u12 David English Bunbury Trophy attracted 74 entries and was run by Secretary Harold Galley. The Yorkshire Post u13 Schools Challenge Final at Headingley (under the guidance of Chairman Dr. Bernard Knowles) was a very special day when Honley High School beat St.John Fisher Cath HS – playing semi finals, final and play-off on a test match venue with electronic scoreboards was an experience they will treasure for many years.
Yorkshire u15 20/20 Trophy…………………………………..……..Woodhouse Grove (Brad) bt King Ecgberts (Sheff)Lord’s Taverners u14 Barbara Woolley Trophy……………... Grammar School at Leeds beat ShelleyAcademy Yorkshire Post u13 Trophy……………….………………………..…… Honley HS beat St.John Fisher Cath HS (Harrogate) David English u12 Bunbury Trophy…...... QEGS Wakefield beat RyedaleSchool ESCA Bunbury u11 Hardball Finals………………………….….…… St.Martin’s Prep (Ampleforth) 4th at Oakham Final
ECBu15County Cup - north / ECBu15County Cup - A section / ECB u14 County CupYorkshire 8 7 0 1 29 / QF : Staffs beat Yorkshire / Nottinghamshire 7 6 1 - 24
Lancashire 8 4 3 1 17 / QF : Wales beat Lancashire / Derbyshire 7 5 1 1 21
Nottingham 8 3 3 2 14 / QF : Surrey beat Bucks / Lancashire 7 5 2 - 20
Derbyshire 8 2 5 1 9 / QF : Kent beat Berkshire / Yorkshire 7 4 3 - 16
Cheshire 8 1 6 1 5 / SF & Final at Kibworth CC / Durham 7 3 4 - 12
ECB u15 CountyCup B section / SF : Surrey beat Staffs / Cheshire 7 2 3 2 10
Worcestershire bt Gloucestershire / SF : Kent beat Wales / Lincolnshire 7 1 5 1 5
No national finals for u14 / Final: Surrey beat Kent / Cumbria 7 - 7 - 0
England Senior Squad – Tim Bresnan, Jonathan Bairstow & Joe Root England Performance Squad (Lions) – Alex Lees
England Elite Development Programme: U18/19 – Will Rhodes (capt), Jonathan Tattersall, Josh Shaw, Matthew Fisher & Karl Carver U16/17– Mosun Hussain & Jared Warner