Twenty20 Big Bash for U16 Cricketers

Victorious South Ribble U16 District Team

U16 Cricketers in Merseyside & South West Lancashire have enjoyed an exciting start to the summer having recently took part in an Inter District Twenty20 Competition.

The eight districts that make up the LCB Development Area of Merseyside & South West Lancashire were involved in the competition that was designed to give U16 Cricketers competitive District Cricket. Furthermore with Twenty20 Cricket becoming a bigger part of the local, national and indeed global game this competition would give coaches and players an opportunity to develop their skill set and experience.

The competition would also give the selectors of the two LCB U16 Festival teams within the area an opportunity to look at players competing against each other as trials were ongoing.

The competition was organised by the West Lancashire Cricket Development Group in partnership with the LCB and the Merseyside & SW Lancashire Cricket Development Group.

LCB Cricket Development Coach for West Lancashire, James Cutt, commented: “As a Development Group we recognised that U16 cricketers were keen to play at District Level and the shortest form of the game made for an exciting competition, with the introduction of Free Hits for Front Foot ‘No Balls’, leg side wides, fielding restrictions and a Finals Day we hoped to create a bit of a buzz across the area.”

Sunday 5^th June saw Burscough Cricket Club host the Finals day involving U16 District teams from West Lancashire, South Ribble, St Helens and Sefton. These four sides had progressed through the Quarter Final stages of the competition earlier in the month having beat Preston, Chorley, Halton / Knowsley and Liverpool in locally organised fixtures.

The first semi final saw West Lancs take on St Helens in what proved to be a fairly one sided affair. St Helens got off to a good start with Jack York scoring 46 in quick time before the introduction of leg spinner James Dickinson (4 for 22) restricted the run rate whilst wickets fell at regular intervals. St Helens finished 143 all out, a good effort considering the 10am start, however at one stage they may have wanted more. In the end it didn’t matter as West Lancs were all out for 78 despite being 25 for 0 after 2 overs. Spin was the key with Liam Jenkins taking 3 for 16, Steve Gornell 2 for 20 and Jon Dotters with remarkable figures of 3 for 3 off 2.2 overs!

The second Semi Final saw South Ribble defeat Sefton by 33 runs. Batting first South Ribble may have expected more than their 149 after a blistering start from Jon Mote (64) ably supported by anchorman, Tom Murray (49). Sefton had fought back in the latter stages of the innings, with spin again playing a key role. Dom Walker (3 for 23) and Andy Jacques (1 for 16 off 4 overs) made life difficult for the Sefton batsmen who could never get ahead of the game and were eventually all out for 116.

Onto the final then where South Ribble won the toss and elected to bat but were soon in trouble losing three quick wickets to put their middle order under pressure. Skipper Jacob Peake (32) rebuilt the innings with Jack Bailey (28) and Alex Ryding (20) as South Ribble scrambled to 106 for 8 in their 20 overs.  A very impressive team effort in the field by the St Helens side.

St Helens got off to a steady start but South Ribble were working hard and the scoring rate was restricted. Jacob Peake, Andy Jacques and Dom Walker all took 2 wickets as St Helens were left needing 22 off 3 overs with just three wickets left. A Jon Dotters cameo got St Helens within touching distance but it was leg spinner Alex Williams who would steal the show. With one ball to go the scores were tied and both teams had lost 8 wickets, was a ‘Super Over’ on the cards? Williams trapped the St Helens number 10 LBW to seal a remarkable win and end a fantastic day’s cricket.

South Ribble Coach Neil Murray was delighted with his team’s effort and the day as a whole. He said:  “It might be an old cliché but in a highly competitive day, once again cricket was the winner.”

The day was closed by Shaun Anders, LCB Cricket Support Officer for South West Lancashire & Merseyside who presented trophies to the winning side and thanked Districts, players, officials and parents alike for their support in making the day a huge success. The West Lancashire Cricket Development Group already have plans to make the competition an even bigger success in 2012.