Yorkshire U12s began the season on a chilly, early June day at Beckwithshaw CC, where 22 players took part in an intrasquad game. 56 from Safiullah Abrar and unbeaten 56* Sam Powdrell were the standout performances with the bat and set the platform for future performances, whilst Will Taylor (3-12) claimed the best figure with the ball from either side. The first competitive fixture came the next week against Cheshire at Bradford Park Avenue. Spin dominated the first innings, with Yorkshire ending on 141-9, after being put in to bat, following an excellent counter attack, led by Freddie Winter (42*).
Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough for victory, as Cheshire passed the total with five overs to go. Another defeat sadly followed in a rearranged game with Lancashire at Saxton CC, before another intrasquad game, this time at Methley CC. A great game of 204-8 against 175 all out took place, with Jack Sharkey’s 77* proving the match-winning knock, despite Louis Veazey’s 65 in the chase, as Fraser Marshall (3-17) hampered the chasing team.
Yorkshire then took their revenge on Cheshire at Cheadle Hulme CC. After being five down early on, the U12s fought back fantastically on a difficult pitch, with Sam Powdrell leading the charge with his 59* as Yorkshire posted 129-8 in 45 overs. The bowlers responded superbly, with wickets shared, as Cheshire fell to 84 all out – Yorkshire claiming a 45-run victory on the road. Yorkshire made it back-to-back victories in the following days against Nottinghamshire at Bridon CC. Notts set 158-6 in the first innings, which Yorkshire chased, eight down, with a partnership between Jack Sharkey (59*) and Safiullah Abrar (42) proving the difference. Sadly though, June finished with a loss to the visiting Lancashire side at Lightcliffe CC on 30th June, with the visitors chasing down Yorkshire’s 113 all out for the loss of four wickets.
Yorkshire U13s started the 2022 season with a dramatic Roses victory away at Longridge Cricket Club, near Preston. Charlie Taylor was the main danger with the ball as he claimed 4-17 as Lancashire fell to 145 all out. Yorkshire looked in relative control in the chase, with number three Ben Squires hitting 46. But late wickets caused a scare, before Yorkshire eventually snook home for a one wicket Roses victory! The U13s then welcomed Nottinghamshire to Castleford CC. The visitors posted 174 all out in the first innings, with Umayr Hewitt’s 3-15 the pick of the bowling. Yorkshire’s reply to this was authoritative, with opener Joseph Hayes’ 37-ball 39 setting the tone before Ben Squires (69*) guided Yorkshire to a six-wicket victory. The 13s then travelled up to Marske CC, near Middlesbrough, to face Northumberland in two T20s. In the first game, a dash from the lower order saw Yorkshire soar to 198-7, after an unbeaten 38* from Louie Wilson. This proved 69 too many for Northumberland. In the second T20, Northumberland batted first. Debutant Isa Ibrahim (3-9) ripped through the top order, claiming a dream hattrick, which started Northumberland’s decline to 92 all out. It took Yorkshire only 9.2 overs to secure victory, with Subhaan Ali’s brutal 63* from just 29-balls ensuring a positive end to a successful day. The 13s then headed down to Whiston Parish Church CC in South Yorkshire to face Derbyshire. Jack Winterbottom top scored with 36, but runs shared throughout the order saw Yorkshire to 192-9 from their 45 overs, before Derbyshire fell to 100 all out in reply. Umayr Hewitt taking 3-14. The team finished the month with another T20 day, this time away to Lancashire at Stretford CC. With runs hard to come by, Lancashire’s 115-5 proved enough for a 26-run victory in the first game, despite 39 with the bat from Charlie Taylor. Yorkshire managed 112-5 in the second T20, but after a close finish to the game, Lancashire just made it home with three balls to spare.
Yorkshire U14s have enjoyed a superb start to the season, with the team unbeaten throughout the first month of the 2022 campaign. They began at Ashington CC in Northumberland, where Aaron Ratnalingam’s 75, opening the batting, led the 14s to 240-5. Northumberland would ultimately fall 122 runs short, with Musa Altaf taking 3-30, as Yorkshire claimed the first U14 ECB Cup win of the season. The runs continued to flow as the U14s entertained Derbyshire. Will MacDonald (45) top scored as the runs were shared in Yorkshire’s 270-8 in the first innings, before Derbyshire fell to 170 all out in the chase. The winning ways continued against Cumbria, with Yorkshire chasing down 195 for victory, with fifties each for Finley South (50) and Alex Jenkins (54). The team then travelled to Lancashire for a T20 day. The first game saw a comprehensive 10-wicket victory, with Aaron Ratnalingam (55*) and Jack Robinson (51*) chasing down 119 with relative ease. The second game saw another win, with Yorkshire setting 139-9, with another 57 runs coming from Ratnalingam. The hosts were then restricted to 128-8 in the reply with Oliver Whyte (3-24) the pick of the bowlers. The 14s then entertained Leicestershire at Clifton Alliance CC, in York. The visitors were asked to bat first and were dismissed for 142, with Musa Altaf (3-28) the leading wicket taker. Yorkshire then secured a comfortable seven-wicket win, with Peter Greenfield top-scoring with 44. Unfortunately, the month finished with a washout against Lancashire in what would have been the ECB Cup top-of-the-group clash, but the 14s will be looking to continue to impress in the ECB Cup as the season continues.
Yorkshire U15s began their 2022 campaign with a T20 tournament at Worksop College. The first game, against Staffordshire, saw a 34-run win for Yorkshire after 54 from Tom Fraine and 5-15 from Ed Burch. Next up was Durham, who Yorkshire dismissed for 98 all out, with Ibrahim Ahmed (3-9) the pick of the bowlers. Yorkshire then eased to an eight-wicket DLS victory after a bit of rain. The third T20 of the first day saw a 12-over smash vs Norfolk after yet more rain. Yorkshire set 82-2 in the first innings, before restricting Norfolk to 74-7 to secure the win, as Charlie Mallik took 3-16. The second day saw a semi-final against a strong Nottinghamshire side first up. Sadly, Yorkshire came off second best, with the tournament hosts claiming an eight-wicket victory. Yorkshire restored some pride in the 3rd/4th playoff later in the day though, with a two-wicket win over Durham. Despite Bradley Sylvester’s 3-33, Durham managed 165-9 from their 20 overs. But Yorkshire responded superbly, knocking off the total in the final over, with Shahzaib Sayeed top-scoring with 50. The first 50 over game of the season came at Todmorden CC versus Lancashire later in the month. Lancs batted very well, amassing 263-3. Following early wickets, Yorkshire fell well short, dismissed for 135. Another loss followed against Durham at Marske CC. Durham made 299 in the first innings, with Jay Singh (3-30) the pick of the Yorkshire bowlers. Despite 64 from Zaki Anjam in the chase, Yorkshire would again fall short in a big chase. Nottinghamshire away followed, with the hosts electing to bat and making 283-7, despite more wickets for Jay Singh (3-52). In the chase, Archie Phillipson hit a heroic 121, but sadly Yorkshire would fall just 17 runs short at the end – the fight shown by the team in the chase a considerable highlight. The 15s finished the month at home to Cheshire at Scarborough CC. Cheshire staged a late rally, and set 274, after Zubair Alone took 3-50. Yorkshire got off to a promising start in the chase, with Will Bennison hitting 75, but ultimately fell just 33 runs short of victory.
Yorkshire U16s began the season later than most, following the conclusion of their GCSEs. Their first game came on 30th June at Bradford Park Avenue, as the newly formed U16 side took on Yorkshire Cricket College. The 16s lost the toss and were asked to bat. After a positive start, a collapse saw Yorkshire fall to 72-5 before an excellent rear-guard action, led by Joe Thompson’s 40, saw the side to a very competitive 206 all out. The College looked beaten at 110-8, with Yorkshire U16s bowling well and off-spinner Jawad Akhtar taking 3-33. But a superb innings by the College number nine saw them to a memorable one wicket win in the last few overs.
Best batting performances
Archie Phillipson – 121 – U15s vs Nottinghamshire
Jack Sharkey – 77* – U12s Intrasquad
Aaron Ratnalingam- 75 – U14s vs Northumberland
Will Bennison – 75 – U15s vs Cheshire
Ben Squires – 69* – U13s vs Nottinghamshire
Best bowling performances
Ed Burch – 5-15 – U15s vs Staffordshire
Charlie Taylor – 4-17 – U13s vs Lancashire
Isa Ibrahim – 3-9 – U13s vs Northumberland
Ibrahim Ahmed – 3-9 – U15s vs Durham
William Taylor – 3-12 – U12 Intrasquad
Thank you to our sponsors Al-Murad Group, for their generous support of the Performance Pathway.
