What a fantastic season the Colts Section has had, with 3 age groups finishing up winners of their league.

The improvement in the ability of the players who played last season has been immense and it has been extremely enjoyable to watch. The most pleasing feature has been the spirit in which they have played the game of cricket, as individuals and more importantly as a team.

U/17

The U/17 had a wonderful season finishing top of their league. In their last game against Mill Hill Village they needed to win to stay top of the league. Cockfosters needed 16 runs of the last over with the last pair batting and managed 15 to tie the match and still gain enough points to win the league. A great effort!

The U/17 competition is tough as there are fewer teams comprising of players who are serious cricketers and the matches are extremely competitive. The achieved their wins by batting second, often chasing large scores, and the opening partnership of

Captain Dan White and Tom Woodbridge, combined well to see of the first few over’s and kept the score moving along. Usually one of the pair was still batting in the 15^th over and was able to sustain the run chase. Dan Rollo, batting at 3, was the perfect batsman to stroke fours and maintain the momentum. Gareth Hooper, Tony Sayers, Matthew and James Stead also weighed in with good innings when needed. Dan White scored 176 runs in the league and won the Best Batsman Award.

The U/17s had a strong bowling attack. Opening fast bowlers Tom Woodbridge and Matthew Stead would invariably make early inroads into the opposition batting. The spin of James Stead and the medium pace outswingers of John Langley was able to contain middle-order batsman as well as taking wickets. Tony Sayers was capable of getting difficult batsmen out, and with the backup of David Shadbolt and Josh Kirk, the team bowled out the opposition for totals which they knew they were capable of chasing. Tom Woodbridge took the most league wickets and won the Best Bowler Award.

Dan Rollo has been working hard at his batting over the last couple of seasons and at times when he is at the crease can be a dominating presence and he won the Most Improved Award.

U/15

The U/15s finished the season on the up, tieing and winning their last two games which gave them their first league points.

Of all the age groups, the U/15s had the smallest squad and unavailability of players was quite high, so forming a cohesive team during the season wasn’t easy during the season.

The team was captained by Tony Sayers and he created an excellent team spirit. They had some exciting games. The U/15s have a lot of developing players – bowlers Chris Nickolls, Scott Lishak, Richard Mitchell, Akash Singh, Duncan Pearce and Daniel Smith are developing well. Tony Sayers is already bowling in the senior elevens and consistently gets good batsmen out. Tony won the Bowling Award.

Tony also bats well for the team & the other leading bats were Matthew Langley, Jon Woodbridge, Michael Smith and Chris Nickolls. Chris played some solid innings throughout the season and he won the Best Batsman Award.

The U/15s worked hard at their practice sessions, none more so than Chris Duncan and his all-round game is improving, particularly his bowling, and he won the Most Improved Award.

U/13

The U/13s had a wonderful season winning their league. Their first match was a Cup match which they lost, they then won their first league match and remained undefeated winning all 10 League games.

Most of the games they won by batting first and literally piling on the runs. They had two very strong opening batsmen in Captain Matthew Shore and Ian Cooper. Between them they made two century partnerships and another one in the eighties. With Sam Barker, Adam Blaby and George Eldred batting at 3, 4 and 5 the team rarely batted below this number. Matthew, Ian and Adam all scored well over 200 league runs and the improvement in their batting was a joy to watch. Ian Cooper plays very straight early in his innings, between mid-on and mid-off, and he won the Batting Award.

Every player in the U/13s can bowl and they all contributed to bowling out the opposition. Joseph Barker, Matthew Shore, Sam Barker, Ian Cooper, Peter Fletcher, Greg Corbett, George Eldred, Laurie Pearce were the main wicket-taking bowlers. Sam Barker bowls his wrist spin with great effect and constantly bamboozles the batsmen and he won the Bowling Award.

For an outstanding season with the bat and an excellent performance as wicketkeeper of the team Adam Blaby won the Most Improved Award.

U/11

The U/11s had a wonderful season winning their league. Their first match was a Cup match which they lost, they then won their first league match and remained undefeated winning all 9 League games.

The team was led by Michael Levy, and he proved to be a fine Captain. Most teams in the U/11 age group usually require assistance from the adult/umpire in setting fields, changing bowlers, keeping the fielders interested and tying up shoe laces, but apart from the latter Michael did it all.

Michael was the supreme batsman in the team and the improvement in his confidence and technique from the previous season was huge. This was due to him working hard to improve his batting by listening to what the coach had to say and putting it into practice. He scored over 200 runs which is a fine achievement.

Other members of the team who made contributions with the bat were Bradley Sayers, Chris Cattlin, Jack Rice, Gabriel Navais and Nayan Patel. The Batting Award was won by Michael Levy.

The U/11 bowling attack was the strength of the team. The opening attack of Bradley Sayers and Nayan Patel, along with first change bowlers Liron Velleman and Gabriel Navais are still young enough to play in the U/11s next season so it emphasises the strength of the bowling in the team. Also newcomers Alex Bassil, Eden Poole, Alex Gildea-Trott and George Uttley bowled extremely well. What all these bowlers do is bowl straight which is the most important skill at this level.

The Bowling Award was won by Nayan Patel. Nayan also took the most number of league wickets.

All the players improved their cricket skills as the season progressed. The Most Improved Player was won by Jack Rice whose all-round batting, bowling and fielding skills made him an important member of the team.

Colt Player of the Year

He was Captain of the U/13 team which won their league and he led from the front, opening the batting with aplomb, taking wickets when bowling, marshalling his bowlers and making field changes with a confidence beyond his years

The Colt Player of the Year Award was won by Matthew Shore.

Thanks:

Chief Coach Pete Phillips for standing out in the middle in all weathers with his ‘incredi’ balls and coaching the finer points of the game, and for placing emphasis on cricket as a team game, after all cricket is a team game and like in any team sport, the best team wins.

The Team Manager of the U/17s Chris Kirk.

Helpers on practice nights, Mark Sayers, Chris Edwards, Sam Penny, Declan O’Leary, Joe Clune, Tracey Sayers and Tony Sayers and anyone else I’ve forgotten.

Parents and supporters of the Club.