Yorkshire’s U12s recently took on friends and rivals Warwickshire U12s in the second year of the Al-Murad Cup.
The Yorkshire youngsters won the toss and elected to bat first after travelling to Bedworth CC to face Warwickshire for the coveted cup at the end of last month.
Yorkshire runs came slowly to begin with but young Yorkies Sol Wood (27) and Aurav Vinta (22) both dug in before succumbing to the dangerous Warwickshire attack.
Towards the end of the innings runs flowed more easily with the Beverley Town CC duo of James Shaw (51) and Oscar Elliott (33*) combining to see Yorkshire finish with 172-6 from their 45 overs.
After the restart an early breakthrough from Yorkshire pace bowler Zakariya Farouk (2-19) had the hosts rattled early, but they built well, with steady partnerships throughout the innings. Yorkshire bowled with discipline, with Ted Holland, Harry Robson and Lewis Kellett all taking a wicket each, but ultimately, Warwickshire secured a four-wicket victory thanks to an accomplished 60* from their number three, with 14 balls to spare.
James Martin, Yorkshire’s Head of Boys Performance Pathway, said: “We are extremely grateful for the support Al-Murad has given the Performance Pathway in Yorkshire and in the creation of this brilliant annual competition.
“Al-Murad’s support has opened up a lot of doors for us to provide Yorkshire’s young players with more opportunities, not just on the pitch for game days, but in terms of kit, training, facilities and more.”
The Al-Murad Cup was started in 2022 to celebrate the collaborative partnership between Yorkshire based company, Al-Murad, and Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s Performance Pathway, initially for a three-year partnership aimed at ensuring that talent from across the county’s communities have an equitable opportunity to shine and remove any economic, social, and coaching barriers to Pathway cricket in Yorkshire.
Last year’s fixture saw an impressive Yorkshire win at Bradford Park Avenue, with Yorkshire guided home by a stunning 64* from captain Safiullah Abrar.
A huge thank you goes to Al-Murad for their generous sponsorship of the Performance Pathway in Yorkshire, which helps to unlock so many opportunities for young cricketers to live their dreams.
Abdul A Ravat, a spokesperson for Al-Murad, said: “On behalf of everyone at Al-Murad we are grateful to the squads, coaches and family members for producing a wonderful occasion and congratulate Warwickshire U12s for their victory. This now means that after the inaugural win for Yorkshire last year at Park Avenue Bradford, honours are even.
“The partnership between Al-Murad and YCCC is helping bring about positive change and positivity and as an organisation Al-Murad can’t wait for the return fixture in 2024 and in showcasing such diverse talent.”
The Al-Murad Cup will return to Yorkshire in 2024 with Yorkshire hoping to reclaim the trophy.
You can see the full scorecard from the game, here:
