A little later than originally planned but we finally managed to hold our Junior Presentation Night. It’s always amazing to see the junior section of the club prosper. After all, it is the lifeblood of our club. Hopefully, many of these aspiring cricketers will play for the club at senior level, score or volunteer in some capacity for years to come.
After an exceptional summer for the junior training group held on Friday evenings (which includes the 6-8 years olds – we averaged 70+ kids every week), it was nice to see so many families turn up across all age groups, to celebrate the hard work these kids put in.
The evening was compared by Neil ‘Flanners’ Flanagan, one of our groundsman, 3rd team captain and supporter of the club for 20+ years. With a number of awards to give out, they started with the 6-8 years olds and newly formed U9s team who would start playing next season. All those who turned up received a medal. We were eager to field at least one U9s team for the first time in several years. Many of these players have been attending training for 2-3 years. It was fantastic to see their progression. The U9s will join our three other age groups in the GMCL.
We had three age groups this season. Each group received 2-3 awards: best bowler, batsman and a manager’s award.
U11s
Batsman – Charlie Goodall
Bowler – Alfie Dearden
U14s
Batsman – Harley Fairclough
Bowler – Tom Hurst
Manager Award – Callum Bacon
U15s
Batsman – Muji Shah
Bowler – Liam Booth
Manager Award – Tom Hurst
Then onto the club awards, presented by our professional, Chris Williams. These trophies are only kept for a year and then returned for the next recipient. The players are in good company. Many of those past winners now play for our senior teams.
Most Improved Junior
Sam Grogan (collected by his over enthusiastic dad due to illness to Sam)
Junior Clubman
Luke Green
Best Junior
Ellis McLaughlin
Flanners summed up the importance and hard work of our junior section perfectly. Many of the U14s/U15s represented the club at senior level for the 3rds and 2nd team. It was a testament to the hard work of the coaches and players as well.
Sadly, this was Pete Hurst’s last season as Junior Cricket Chairman. We would like to pass our most heartfelt thanks for all his time and effort over the last 10 years. 1st teamer, Adam McGladdery will be picking this mantle. As such, we look forward to the winter nets in February. Keep an eye out on the junior cricket section of the site for news on next season.
