U10s Boys County Age Group - 2023 Season Review & Award Winners
23 October 2023
The season began with an excellent 134 run win over Worcestershire, with Alex Simpson (84) and Sam Graham (36) the main contributors to a total of 195-9. When Worcestershire batted, Josh Kinahan opened the bowling, and, after 2 overs, had the extraordinary figures of 2-1-1-6, all bowled! Worcestershire were eventually dismissed for 61.
The team were brought down to earth in the next fixture v Wiltshire, bowled out for 92 in 22 overs, although Wiltshire lost 8 wickets in reaching the target, with Otis and Xander Evans becoming prominent members of the squad, especially in the field.
The batting improved against Oxfordshire, with George Kear (29) and Alex Simpson (67 not out) laying the basis of a total of 161-6 in 40 overs. Oxfordshire were dismissed for 129 in 30 overs. A better Worcestershire attack restricted our total to 90-9 at Pershore, with Callan Wood top-scoring with 30 not out. An outstanding effort was required in the field: the bowling and fielding was brilliant as the home team were dismissed for 36. The destroyers were Sam Graham (4-5), Josh Kinahan (3-2) and Callan Wood (2-6). A good all-round team performance saw Dorset defeated by 25 runs.
On to the Malvern Festival, where Cambridge were defeated by 6 runs: brilliant fielding by the boys resulted in 7 run-outs! Against Norfolk, an 82 run partnership between Alex Simpson (64) and Leo Bann (41) was the basis of a 22 run victory. George Kear notched his first 50 as Cheshire were defeated by 49 runs, and Jack Dent performed a similar feat as Suffolk suffered a 113 run defeat.
The squad was now full of confidence and scored over 200 for the first time against Oxfordshire, with consistent batting from top to bottom, particularly pleasing to see Ben Leonard (28) score some runs. Otis Evans, now converted to orthodox left arm spin, took 5-22 and captain George Green took 3-27, with a victory margin of 69 runs.
For the final match of the season, the return against Wiltshire, we were disrupted by injuries and illness on the morning of the match and the batting struggled against an accurate seam attack. George Green faced 74 deliveries in scoring 21 not out, holding the innings together, as we reached 131-7 in 35 overs. Wiltshire batted well to reach their target for the loss of only 3 wickets, but, there were only 8 deliveries remaining, and if a few potential catches had gone to hand, it could have been a different result.
All in all, a good season, where the boys worked hard and achieved considerable improvement, with the team very well skippered by George Green.
Performance of the Year
This award goes to a player who had an extraordinary start to the season taking figures of 6 wickets for 1 run off 2 overs. This years U10s Performance of the Year goes to Josh Kinahan.
Player of the Year
This player has been in great form with the bat throughout the whole season. Averaging nearly 55 and with a high score of 84, this player has a bright future ahead of him and impressed with his consistency to score runs when needed most. This years U10s Boys Player of the Year goes to Alex Simpson.
