On Wednesday, 9 August, The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF), in collaboration with Bradford Park Avenue Cricket Ground, hosted the Yorkshire Junior Hundred final’s day to help celebrate and support young people in cricket.
The event was a real celebration of community with the winners from the Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and Kirklees Junior Hundred competitions vying to take home the coveted Yorkshire trophy.
Leeds took on Bradford in the first semi-final match followed by Sheffield against Kirklees before winners from those games faced-off in the final.
The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF), in collaboration with Bradford Park Avenue Cricket Ground, hosted the Yorkshire Junior Hundred final to help celebrate and support young people in cricket earlier this month.
Reflecting on the day, Sohail Raz, the Diverse Communities Manager for YCF, and organizer of the YCF Junior Hundred, recounts the main action from the matches and talks about the importance of such events and creating opportunities for young people.
At the iconic Bradford Park Avenue Cricket ground, the winners from Leeds (UFCC Chargers), Bradford (Wicketz), Sheffield (Sharrow Stars), and Kirklees (Batley Blasters) competed in the Yorkshire Junior Hundred Final day.
The seedings were determined by the draws that were made in the local junior hundred competitions in Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and Kirklees leading up to the Yorkshire final.
The match-up between Leeds and Bradford ended up going Leeds’ way. Bradford, who were elected to bat first after losing the toss struggled. Leeds successfully chased down Bradford’s score of 119 in just 47 balls. Arya was named player of the match after retiring on 50 off just 17 balls.
In the second semi-final of the day Sheffield Juniors choose to bowl first after winning the toss and managed to see Kirklees Juniors out for 125 (from 96 balls). Kirklees Juniors fought hard to ball out their opponents, but Sheffield Juniors managed to chase the score 126/5 (from 71 balls). Seth Warrington was awarded player of the match for his 13 balls 34 runs and bowling figures of 3/19.
YCF Junior Hundred Final trophies.
In the final match for the silverware Leeds Juniors asked the Sheffield Juniors to bat first after winning the toss without hesitation. The first batter for Sheffield was cheaply dismissed. Seth Warrington, who came in at number 3, scored an incredible 40 off only 11 balls including four big sixes.
Zayan Khan, chipped in with 21 off 16 balls batting at number 4. Taha Sajid scored 30 not out off 19 balls hitting two fours and two sixes, helping Sheffield to 163 from 89 balls. For Leeds, Shaurya was the pick of the bowlers after taking four wickets. In their reply, Leeds Juniors lost a couple of early wickets. A third wicket partnership between Arya and Harsh of 61 bought the Leeds Juniors back into the game, but some bad running between the wickets and couple of bad shots had them fall 46 run short of their target, scoring 117/7 in 78 balls. As a result, the Sheffield Juniors made it back-to-back championships.
Seth Warrington was named player of the day for his outstanding all-round performances in the semi-final and final (74 runs off 24 balls at a strike rate of 308.33, 4 wickets at an average of 9.5).
As a reward we were delighted to be able to invite the Sheffield side to attend the Northern Superchargers Welsh Fire game at Headingley, in partnership with The Hundred for today, (Tuesday 22 August), in the hospitality area as a reward for their fantastic achievement.
This is the second year that the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation have organised and run a junior Hundred competition.
This is the second year that we have organised and run a junior Hundred competition and it is a great competition showcasing the incredible talents of young players.
The final and competitions leading up to this have been a vibrant and joyous celebration for players and families alike. It’s been brilliant to get so much positive feedback from the players and parents again. We will look to try and make it even better next year.
I’d like to thank the parents and coaches for helping through the local competitions across the four areas of Leeds, Bradford Sheffield, and Kirklees, without their support it wouldn’t have been possible.
Results
Final: Leeds (UFCC Chargers) v Sheffield (Sharrow Stars)
Sheffield (Sharrow Stars) win for the second year in a row.
Sheffield Juniors: 163/7 (89 balls) Seth Warrington 40, Taha Sajid 30, Zayan Khan 21, Shaurya 4/37, Hem 1/19, Shayan 1/34, Arun Varma 1/21
Leeds Juniors: 117 all-out (78 balls) Arya 34, Harsh 34, Rehan Ahmed 1/36, Seth Warrington 1/19, Zayan Khan 1/12.
Earlier in the day…
Semi-final 1: Bradford (Wicketz) v Leeds (UFCC Chargers)
Leeds (UFCC Chargers) win
Bradford Juniors: 119 all-out (69 balls) Anish Khan 46, Harsh 3/14, Shaurya 3/12, Aarav 1/32
Leeds Juniors: 122/1 (47 balls) Arya 50 Retired, Hem 26, Anas Yahya 1/40
Semi-final 2: Sheffield (Sharrow Stars) v Kirklees (Batley Blasters)
Sheffield (Sharrow Stars) win
Kirklees Juniors: 125 all-out (96 balls) Musa Makda 27, Seth Warrington 3/19, Zayan Khan 3/13, Reham Ahmed 1/14
Sheffield Juniors: 126/5 (71 balls) Seth Warrington 34, Khizar Farooq 3/24, Amaan Arshad 1/17
