London County’s Prestige Match for Under 13′s was a splendid affair, and a wonderful 2-Day ‘experience’ for all involved at the delightful setting of ‘The Denis Compton Oval’ , Shenley, on September 1st and 2nd last week.
The quality of Cricket on display was of an excellent standard and the level of competitiveness was very high on the field of play. Off it, everyone integrated superbly and much fun was had by all.
To have contrasting formats of a two innings T20 Match (where the 10/10 innings split was between the start of day one , and the conclusion of day two as a climax to the Special Event) provided the boys with the challenge of moving from a high-energy, fast-paced game to a more sedate pace. This was in the form of the 2-Day four innings match which was played as ‘the main course’ of the London County Special Event.
‘Compton’s Xl’ (young gentlemen of the south) enjoyed a ‘moral victory’ in the drawn 2-Day game, having finished in the ascendancy after a difficult first day when the qualit yof the bowling from ‘Hutton’s Xl’ was most impressive. Yorkshire’s new ball pair of Matthew Taylor and Ed Barnes could be a ‘Gough & Hoggard’ in the making, while James Logan looks a natural left arm spin bowler. Will Cousins of Nottinghamshire added solid support with his seam bowling and good catching, while Lancashire’s wicket-keeper, James Seward, led the team with intelligence and drive.
Berkshire’s Max Stevenson played the ‘stand-out’ innings with 98, having been dropped at slip second ball of the match, having made a nought in the 10/10 45 minutes previously. What a game Cricket is, and how often one’s personal success can sit on the sharpest of knife-edges!! Max’s concentration, patience and discipline were admirable throughout his innings until being undone by an interval which seemed to affect his steady rhythm, and the taking of the second new ball which led to his dismissal when ‘bounced out’ by the hostile Yorkshiremen who excelled with the new ball late n the evening and early the following morning.
Surrey’s Ryan Patel made a telling contribution for ‘Compton’s Xl’ with the bat in the lower order to provide his team with a competitive first innings total, before excelling with the ball later in the game on day two.
There was enterprising captaincy from both Nathan Baxter (Kent) and James Seward (Lancashire) on the second day where ‘Hutton’s Xl’ declared on 150 behind to set up the opportunity of a 4th innings run chase.
‘Compton’s Xl’ played very well to set up a 275 lead with Surrey’s Ollie Trower making a classy half-century and Kent’s Marcus O’Riordan providing some intelligent batting before and after the lunch break to put his team in a dominant position.
‘Hutton’s Xl’, chasing 276 to win off a minimum of 58 overs, replied with a solid start but the quality of Kush Patel’s (Middlesex) leg-spin bowling and the excellent fielding support by his team pegged ‘Hutton’s Xl’ back and a drawn match became their only realistic goal as Will Cousins (Nottinghamshire) and James Seawrd (Lancashire) led them through some choppy waters and towards the shore where they were able to emerge with much credit from the drawn game.
The contrast was then created with a ‘manic’ 10/10 which required the two teams who were depleted of much of their energy reserves, to raise their games for a high-paced, intense effort to score as quickly as possible from 10 overs each.
I purposely placed a limit of half an hour on the Captain Nik Rawal (Middlesex) to complete the first ten overs of the match, with the penalty of deducting each over they had not completed in that time period from their batting reply. I wanted to expose the boys to the experience of having operate under great stress where time is at a premium and chaos surrounds them.
Connor Marshall (Nottinghamshire) played maturely and Harrison Phelan (Lancashire) played sensationally at the end of the innings, striking two straight sixes over long off to ensure the final over put their team in a dominant position with a three figure team score.
‘Compton’s Xl’ were always likely to struggle in pursuit of such an imposing total once the first over went for only three runs and their dominant strokemaker Marcus O’Riordan was run out in a mix-up. His Kent team-mate Zak Crawley replaced him and unfurled some delightful strokes before his dismissal to a fine catch (one of many throughout the 2 day experience) on the boundary.
It seemed a bridge too far for ‘Compton’s Xl’ , with 45 needed off only three overs, but Billy Rogers (Berkshire) played the innings of a lifetiome when he struck three successive sixes over long on and deep mid-wicket to give his team a lifeline and ‘only’ 25 more to get from the last two overs. Middlesex’s Kush Patel enhanced his growing reputation as a player of promise over the two days with a few more glorious strokes to the boundary, leaving him and Billy Rogers with 12 to get off the final over. Kush hit a boundarey off the first ball, scored nothing off the second, and struck the third over extra cover towards the boundary, where Connor Marshall ran round from long off and dived forward to toake a courageous and remarkble catch on the move at full tilt. It was ’the champagne moment’ in a couple of days which were filled with several other contenders for the honour.
With three balls remaining and 8 runs needed, and Billy ROhgers back on strike, ‘Compton’s Xl’ were still in the match but with only one scored off the fourth ball to long off and a new batsman on strike needing 7 off two, it was a tall order in the fading light once the day’s dazzling sunshine had dropped over the horizon. Nik Rawal played and missed off the fifth and could only manage a couple of runs off the last to conclusde a remarkalbe match and a superb couple of days.
I loved it, and it was a pleasure to be able to work with 26 gifted and delightful youngsters.
My thoughts were shared by my fellow Professional Coaches and Professional Mentors, all of whom added great value to the process with hteir observations and interventions throughout. Fabian Cowdrey (on the ground opened by his late grand-father Sir Colin)and Paul Jarvis, the former Yorkshire and England fast bowler, were assigned as Coaches to the two teams, while Graham Charlesworth, Lloyd Scott, Mo Pardesi shared umpitring duties in between engaging the boys in conversation on and off the field about their lives and how best to move forward. Devon Malcolm’s huge presence and insightful contribution over lunch was another highlight, as was the invaluable contribution of the evergreen Jack Birkenshaw who remains as enthusiastic about the game as a young cricketer on Christmas Day receiving his first cricket bat.
Having such experienced Cricket people as part of our London County process is what helps to add to the richness and diversity of our professional mentoring work. I thank you all for your wonderful contributions.
Akhil Rawal performed the scoring duties with his usual reliability and good natured humour while the staff at SHneley under the direction of the charming Glucka Wijesuriya and Tony Reeder, helped to make the event do special. And finally, a special thank you to all the parents for supporting the event with such enthusiasm and for being so respectful of the ‘team space’ which allowed me to facvilitate the learnign experience in the best way I could possibly have wished for.
A special thank you to Barry Hearn and his Matchroom oganisation, Monty Panesar, Gemaal Hussain,Glucka Wijesuriya, NBC Sports Management, and Dilip Jajodia at Dukes Cricket Balls for being such generous sponsors and supporters of London County’s work in developing people to grace the game.
The sun shone gloriously, and the Cricket was exceptional. The boys arrived as strangers and left as friends. Parents met for the first time, while others were re-connecting. It was special to have my own parents in attendance too – they have alwys beeen a source of great strength and support in my life. For them to see so many others going through the trials and tribulations of watching their sons pursue excellence at Cricket must have been a fascinating process for them to have observed. Mum and Dad (Marie and Roy) have been through the mill watching my brother Ian and me play County Age Group schools cricket, and also with the professional football dream too. Their unconditional loving support has been continuously amazing.
That’s one of the many reasons I love Cricket. What a game!!
