Yorkshire’s County Age Group teams, between U12 and U16 continued their campaigns into August and September, joined by U10 & U11 Best of Regional sides, with a number of standout team and individual performances coming from across the Pathway, and even some silverware too!
August saw the introduction of the U10 Best of Regional side, giving those U10 players who have performed well throughout the 2022 Regional Programme the chance to test themselves against Warwickshire and Lancashire over four days of cricket. The U10s would end up unbeaten through all of their games, beginning with a very strong performance against Warwickshire at Follifoot CC. George Lamb (3-3) was the pick of the Yorkshire BOR bowlers as Warwickshire were dismissed for just 50 all out, before the young Yorkies knocked it off two down. A 15-over game was then organised, with Yorkshire again claiming victory, this time by 38 runs, with all-rounder Lamb notching 32 with the bat. The team then travelled to Lancashire, and were in trouble, batting first, at 31-6. But a superb rear-guard action, led by young Isaac Wainwright (71*), saw Yorkshire BOR to a competitive 131-9 at the halfway stage. Thanks to some excellent bowling and fielding, this proved 20 runs too many for Lancs, with George Lamb (4-20) and Finley Hunter (3-9) doing most of the damage in a memorable win. The return fixture against Lancashire was sadly rained off, with Yorkshire 41-3, chasing 137 to win. It was then down to Warwickshire for a T20 day. Yorkshire BOR batted first in game one and amassed an impressive 171-6, with Henry Stabler (32) the top-scorer. Theo Oldfield (3-2) then led the way with the ball as Warwickshire fell to 70 all out. In game two, Yorkshire BOR bowled first, as Warwickshire made 127-4. Yorkshire then knocked off the runs with four overs to spare, four down, with skipper Rayyan Ahmed, unbeaten on 57* from 52 balls.
August also saw the start of the U11 Best of Regional games, with the U11s also taking on Warwickshire and Lancashire over four days of cricket. First up, it was Warwickshire at Bradford Park Avenue. Despite three wickets apiece for Felix Gilliland (3-28) and Zakariya Farouk (3-36), the visitors managed 220-8, which proved 96 too many for Yorkshire BOR, despite 31 from skipper Lucas Arnot. The next game was an absolute thriller, away to Lancashire, to contest the Tony Hemmingway Trophy in front of a large Lancashire crowd at Rainford CC. Yorkshire BOR batted first and were all out for 123, with opener William King (32) the top scorer. Lancashire looked to be in cruise control at 117-5, needing only six runs to win. But an extraordinary few overs saw the hosts lose all five of their remaining wickets for just four runs as Yorkshire BOR ran out one-run winners in an unbelievable game! Lancashire got their own back in the rematch with a 39-run win in the rain-affected game at York CC. George Hanson was the star on the day, with his 5-20, which saw Lancashire all out for 138. Sadly though, Yorkshire BOR would eventually fall to 74 all out, attempting to chase down 114 in the reduced 28-over chase. The Best of Regional U11 side finished strong, on the road in Leamington. Harry Rook (48) led the way with the bat as Yorkshire BOR posted 152 all out in the first innings. Warwickshire would ultimately fall 28 runs short in the chase, with Rook (4-17) and Charlie Rose (3-1) doing most of the damage with the ball.
Yorkshire U12s began August with losses to Warwickshire despite some excellent performances with the ball from Jack Longley’s 3-10 in the first game and James Galley’s 3-36 in the second. The U12s followed this up with an intra-squad T20 day, which saw Aarav Singh (54*), Luke Proffitt (54*) and Safiullah Abrar (51*) and Oliver Shepherd (50* & 30) all in the runs over the two T20 games. Games vs Durham and Warwickshire followed. Against Durham, runs from Luke Proffitt (50*) and Lewis Senior (55) sadly weren’t enough for victory, as Durham squeezed home in the 38th over of the 40 over contest.
Yorkshire came off second best against a very strong Warwickshire side at Bedworth CC, but the highlight of the day was undeniably a battling 51* from skipper Ashwin Krishnan. It was then onto the Rugby Festival to finish the season off for the U12 boys. Runs from Safiullah Abrar (73) and Lewis Senior (63*) set up an impressive 63-run win vs Durham on day one, with Daniel Credland (3-20) and Subhan Cheema (3-21) both ensuring the victory in the second half. Two T20s followed the next day, where Yorkshire lost out in two low-scoring games against Middlesex and Staffordshire. Ashwin Krishnan taking 3-9 vs Middlesex. This all set up the season finale, against Warwickshire – who had handsomely beaten Yorkshire several times over the season. Yorkshire U12s responded to the challenge in superb fashion. Yorkshire dismissed Warwickshire for 155 in the first innings, with seamers George Cameron (3-28) and Charlie Richardson (3-28) ripping through the Warwickshire order. Then, 63 from number three Jack Sharkey set up the chase, before Will Taylor (22*) hit the winning runs to secure a special two-wicket win to cap off the season!
Yorkshire U13s began August away at Warwickshire. Samuel Mara’s 4-27 helped restrict Warwickshire to 177-9 in their 45 overs, but sadly, Yorkshire fell to 99 all out in the reply despite Noah Jackson’s 30 at the end. A narrow loss to Wales followed at Colwyn Bay, with Charlie Taylor (37) in the runs, nonetheless. The U13s stormed back to top form in the following game vs Leicestershire. Following 3-31 from Evan Chapman and 3-35 from Louie Wilson, Leicestershire were all out for 212. But Yorkshire would make easy work of the target, with a stunning century from John Wyndham (126*), in an unbeaten 187-run partnership with Alex Strain (63*), taking Yorkshire to a nine-wicket win. Two T20 day losses followed vs Warwickshire, despite Subhaan Ali (70* and 3-31) starring with bat and ball across the two games. Charlie Taylor (33) and Jack Everett (3-15) were also top performers on the day. It was then time for a Roses clash at Copley CC, where Yorkshire claimed a handsome win. Chasing 209 for victory, Joseph Hayes (58), Ben Squires (54) and Oscar Firth (38*) made sure Yorkshire U13s ended their regular season on a high, securing the four-wicket win in the final over! Then there was only Rugby Festival to go… Day one of the festival saw an impressive win vs Nottinghamshire, with Charlie Taylor (61) and Alex Strain (36) both in the runs as Yorkshire made 185 all out, before bowling Notts out for 112, as Louie Wilson bagged 3-16. Day two brought the T20s, with Yorkshire losing out to Essex in the morning, before coming back to beat Staffordshire in the afternoon fixture. Day three brought a 45 over fixture against hosts Warwickshire. Yorkshire did well to restrict Warwickshire to 152 all out, with wickets shared throughout the attack. But Warwickshire were up to the challenge and, despite 49 from Joseph Hayes, Yorkshire would fall just seven runs short of victory in their final game of the festival, and the 2022 season.
Yorkshire U14s began the final month of their impressive 2022 campaign at Ratcliffe College, for a T20 day vs Leicestershire. The Foxes ran out two-wicket winners in the first game despite the best efforts of Arjun Sumanth (3-20) and co. But Yorkshire came storming back in the second game, where an incredible spell of 5-5 from debutant Charlie Bradbourne, put Yorkshire well on the way to an eventual six wicket win. By this stage of the season, the undefeated Yorkshire U14s had already secured top spot in the U14 ECB Cup North Group, and there was only one group game left before the knockout stages. The game was against Durham and they weren’t in any mood to allow Yorkshire a clean sweep of the group. Runs from Aaron Ratnalingam (67) and Hector Hamill (56), combined with a sumptuous ton from Peter Greenfield (104), propelled Yorkshire to 309-8 from their 45 overs. But Durham timed their chase to perfection, knocking the large total off for the loss of seven on the immaculate Marske wicket with just two balls to spare. This left three friendly games (all two-day fixtures) and the ECB Cup knockout stages for the U14s. The first two-dayer was drawn vs Lancashire, with Josh Winnard (47) and Connor Sanderson (37) both impressing with the bat in the first innings before Daniel Longley (5-50) had Lancs on the back foot and batting time in an attempt to sure up the game. Despite the best efforts for the Yorkshire batters to set up a chase at the end, led by Max Heseltine’s quick 36*, the game was ultimately honours even. Nottinghamshire claimed victory in the second two-dayer, with Yorkshire lacking the required runs over the two innings, as they were bowled out for 136 and 106, despite good performances with the bat from Aaron Ratnalingam (36) in the first innings and Tom Bradley (31 & 39) across both innings. The final two-dayer saw Yorkshire hold on for the draw vs Warwickshire in a game dominated by the spinners. Om Behera took 6-91 in the first innings for Yorkshire, but only opener Joe Birks (85) could get any score of note with the bat.
The ECB Cup knockout stages began with Oxfordshire at home in the quarter finals. Yorkshire batted first and amassed 272-6 on a good Driffield pitch, with twin tons from Peter Greenfield (116) and Aaron Ratnalingam (100). Despite a decent attempt in the chase, the visitors would ultimately fall 25 runs short of victory, with skipper Dan Longley taking 3-53. Yorkshire progressed to the semis, at home to Lancashire at York Cricket Club. Lancashire were met with what was arguably the U14s most dominant performance of the season, as the old enemy were bowled out for 138, with spinners Musa Altaf and Dan Longley both taking 3-17 each. Yorkshire then cruised to a comfortable nine-wicket victory with 11 overs to spare, with Aarush Shinde unbeaten on 68*, following Aaron Ratnalingam’s 60. This set up a showdown with Surrey in the final at Attenborough CC, Nottingham, to finish the season. Yorkshire won the toss and elected to field. The bowlers did the job, dismissing Surrey for 151 in the 37th over, with Musa Altaf recording excellent figures of 4-18. Runs were spread throughout the order as the team worked hard to claim a fantastic team victory – as Yorkshire U14s were crowned ECB Cup champions for 2022!
Yorkshire U15s were well into their multi-day cricket programme by August and the first game of the month saw the U15s take on Yorkshire U16s in a three-day game at Driffield Town CC. The U15s won the toss and elected to bat, putting on 267 in the first innings, with runs from Tom Fraine (84), Liam Phillips (52*) and Joe Hall (39). Josh Hoyle took 3-76 for the U16s. The U16s responded in dominant fashion, making a mammoth 459 all out, with Noah Kelly (86), Jack Redshaw (79), Leo Wilson (77) and Finlay Hill (66*) all in the runs, as Will Bennison took 3-71 with the ball for the U15s. The U15s battled back to set up a game, with Will Bennison scoring a superb 187, supported well by Joe Hall (64), Liam Phillips (53) and Tom Fraine (51*). The U16s would need 217 to win in 30 overs, following the U15 declaration, on 408-5 – a tough ask. But the U16s showed real skill and application in the chase, with opener Noah Kelly hitting an 82-ball 111* to secure the win with an over to spare, partnered well by Josh Hoyle (33) and, at the end, by a brutal Jack Redshaw (33* from 11 balls). The U15s then took on Warwickshire at Castleford CC. Yorkshire were bowled all out in the first innings for just 140, despite an encouraging start from openers Will Cross (46) and Ed Burch (30). The bowlers then did well to restrict Warwickshire to a manageable lead, led by pace-man Matthew Firbank (3-22). Yorkshire batting improved significantly in the second innings, with wicketkeeper batter Joe Thompson recording his first century for Yorkshire (100*), alongside useful contributions from Harry Pearson (37) and Nash Charles (34*). Needing 121 to win at around 10 an over following Yorkshire’s declaration, Warwickshire had a go at the total, before the teams shook hands with Warwickshire five down and 32 runs short of the target. The U15s then took on the U16s once again in a 50 over game at Marske. The U16s batted first, setting 266-2, with Tom Burton’s 142* the backbone of the total. Burton was supported by 55* from Jawad Akhtar as well as 43 from opener Noah Chapman. A 117-run partnership from Joe Hall (74) and Tom Fraine (56) gave the U15s hope, but they would ultimately fall to 211 all out, with the wickets shared. Mahleb Mahmood’s 3-46 was the highlight of the first innings in the U15s next two-dayer, against Northumberland U18s, up at Tynemouth, as the hosts made 321-9 dec in their first innings. Despite 36 from Dan Marshall and 35 from Lewis Ainley, Yorkshire looked in trouble at 168-9 when Will Cross and Mahleb Mahmood came together at the crease. However, centurion Cross (101*) and Mahmood (51*) would go on to add an incredible 162 for the last wicket before Yorkshire declared nine runs ahead on 330-9! Sadly though, there wasn’t enough time left to force a result, with the game drawing to a close with Northumberland 96-4 in the third innings. The U15s took on Lancashire in their final game of the season and it was certainly one to remember for Jonah Thackeray and Robbie Murray. Thackeray ripped through the Lancashire line-up in the first innings, with his 5-32 seeing Lancs all out for 193. Yorkshire then answered with 361 all out, Murray recording 108 of those, well supported by Owen Smith (58), Shahzaib Sayeed (53), Joe Thompson (42), Dan Marshall (36) and Archie Phillipson (30*). The game would end in a draw, but a very encouraging one for Yorkshire’s young cricketers.
Yorkshire U16s’s first game of August 2022 saw them take on Rugby School at Bradford Park Avenue in a two-day game. Day one was a great day for the Yorkshire batters, with Leo Wilson making his maiden hundred (116), with Jack Redshaw (65), Jawad Akhtar (51) and Tom Burton (42) also in the runs, as Yorkshire finished the first innings on 361 all out. Rugby were soon four down by the close of play, but unfortunately the rain came the following morning, meaning no more play was possible and the game was drawn. Next up was the U16s must-win ECB Cup game vs Lancashire. A win vs Lancashire and Derbyshire in the last two group games would guarantee them qualification to the knockout stages of the national competition, with Lancashire vying for the same spot. Openers Noah Kelly (104) and Sabir Mahmood (53) set the tone for the day, as Yorkshire made 264-8 in the first innings. The chase swung back and forth, but it was Yorkshire who held their nerve in the end, with Lancashire falling 10 runs short, with Tom Burton (4-64) taking crucial wickets at the end. The Derbyshire game followed, and Yorkshire had Derbyshire all out for 157 in the first innings, with spinners Josh Hen-Boisen (4-38) and Tom Burton (3-37) coming to the fore. All-rounder Burton (69*) then secured the win and a second-place finish in the North group for Yorkshire, with Cheshire the only side to have beaten them. The knockout stages would await them. The U16s still had a number of friendly fixtures to go though, beginning with a return fixture, away to Rugby School, this time for a 50 over game. A rear-guard action from Ryan Adams (46*) and Tom Currie (33), following Tom Fraine’s 35, saw Yorkshire to 214 all out. This proved 38 too many for Rugby, with Josh Hen-Boisen (3-30) once again the pick of the bowlers. The U16s then took on Huntingdonshire 1st XI, with the men’s side travelling up to New Earswick CC, York, for the clash. Huntingdonshire made 209-9 in their 40 overs, with Ibrahim Ahmed claiming 4-32 for Yorkshire. Despite a brilliant innings of 94 from 88 balls from Rohan Ratnalingam, Yorkshire would fall just six runs short, in a great game of cricket. The U16s then travelled to Warwickshire to face their Emerging Players Programme in a two-day game. Josh Hen-Boisen (3-58) claimed the best figures as Warwickshire made 368 in the first innings. Yorkshire’s reply saw them to 322 all out, with Noah Chapman (89), Leo Wilson (78), Tom Currie (68) and Finlay Hill (33) all making runs. The game came to the close with Warwickshire 47-2 in the third innings. The last friendly of the season for the U16s saw them take on Durham’s Emerging Players Programme in a two-day run-fest. Yorkshire’s 452 all out looked impressive, with Tom Burton leading the way with another century (133), alongside Jack Redshaw (79), Freddie Chapman (63), Leo Wilson (49) and Sabir Mahmood (37). But Durham battled on day two, batting out almost 100 overs for their 331 all out as the game ended in a draw, Josh Hoyle claiming 3-61 for Yorkshire.
That just left only the knockout stages of the ECB Cup. In the quarter final, the U16s got the better of Northants, bowling them out for 174, with Josh Hen-Boisen taking 4-33, before knocking off the total three down in the 44th over, with runs from Noah Chapman (45*), Sabir Mahmood (41) and Rohan Ratnalingam (39*). It was onto the semi-finals, and a rematch with the only team that had beaten Yorkshire in the competition so far – Cheshire. Yorkshire elected to bat first and made an imposing 257-7, with runs from Leo Wilson (58), Jack Redshaw (50) and Tom Currie (37*). The Yorkshire bowlers then shared the spoils as they tore through the Cheshire order, reducing the hosts to 164 all out and booking a place in the final! The final saw Yorkshire up against an unbeaten Middlesex side at Loughborough University. Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat. But they were in trouble following 5-25 from Josh Hen-Boisen. Middlesex fought hard though, and it took 3-29 from fellow spinner Tom Burton to finally see them all out for 191. Yorkshire lost wickets early in the reply and, at 81-6, hope looked almost lost. Tom Burton didn’t think so though, and despite being struck down with cramp and requiring a runner, the Yorkshire all-rounder hit a sublime 74, holing out to a great catch in the deep as Yorkshire were closing in on an improbable victory. Sadly though, it was a bridge too far once Burton had gone and despite a noble effort from the lower order, Yorkshire would fall 22 runs short as Middlesex ran out worthy champions. But in truth, it had been a tremendous season for the U16s, who can hold their heads up high as a great team who have achieved so much on the pitch in 2022 – but also as a team that supported each other and were gracious in defeat. We hope they all have a bright future in the game.
You can view all of our scorecards from the Performance Pathway, as well as all our player and team stats, via our Play-cricket page – https://yorkccc.play-cricket.com/home
With the 2022 County Age Group season now over, we’d like to take a moment to thank all the coaches, players, grounds, clubs, leagues, sponsors, officials and, most importantly, the parents and families who do so much to support all the boys on their journeys in the game! The hard work and dedication of all those who contribute to our amazing Pathway in Yorkshire in so many different ways should never be underappreciated! Thank you all so much!
Thank you, as always, goes to our sponsors Al-Murad Group, for their generous support of the Performance Pathway.
