County Under 14: Last season
Taunton Festival - Wiltshire U14’s vs Essex U14’s - 27th July 2007 - Wiltshire lost by 15 runs finishing 4th in the festival
Despite waking up to glorious sunshine the Management team were greeted by the sight of a very despondent Festival Organiser. Bad news Im afraid as 4 out of the 6 festival pitches were deemed just to wet for any play. However everyone was so keen to get some sort of play in it was decided that the games would be 15/15 with everyone getting to play on the two fit pitches – if only just.
Winning the toss and asking Essex to bat we bowled and fielded really well restricting Essex to just 91 in their 15 overs however faced by some excellent Essex bowling we never quite got our noses in front losing by 15 runs. Victory gave Essex the festival title with ourselves back in 4th and behind the three first class counties in the group.
Taunton Festival - Wiltshire U14’s vs Warwickshire U14’s - 26th July 2007
Oh dear!! Yet more overnight rain saw our fixture with Warwickshire washed out without a ball being bowled.
Taunton Festival - Wiltshire U14’s vs Kent U14’s - 25th July 2007 - Wiltshire lost
Day three saw us pitch our wits against first class opposition for the first time at the festival. Once again skipper Qureshi called correctly and duly inserted Kent into bat on a damp surface. Initially the innings stuttered and at 26-2 in the 10th over signs were good for Wilts, however a disastrous 5 over spell midway through the innings coupled with a late flurry of boundaries from no. 9 Wiliams saw a challenging 180 all out posted. Best bowling for Wilts came initially by the opening attack of U13’s Haggaty and Miles (2-18) backed up well by Alsop
(4-22) and Heer (1-22) from his 10 overs.
Needing a solid start, again Wilts lost an early wicket and when Phillips (15) picked out the mid wicket fielder much was left in the hands of Qureshi and Alsop. On this occasion it was not to be as Alsop was clean bowled first ball and with it the chance of a win evaporated. Looking to save the game skipper Qureshi batted throughout remaining unbeaten on 46 however the Wilts rearguard action was ended with some 6 overs remaining when tailender Cole was bowled. Of particular note was the excellent aggressive spells of quick bowling by both B Harris (3-10) and Williams (3-12).
Taunton Festival - Wiltshire U14’s vs Buckinghamshire U14’s - 24th July - Wiltshire won by 7 wickets
After the rain of Monday all were relieved to wake to what was a dry day. The rain of the previous day had however taken its toll with only 3 of the 6 pitches being playable. In true Festival style the formats of he games were hurridly revised to 30 overs per side such that 2 games could be completed on each of the playable pitches. Winning the toss we had no hesitation in inserting Bucks. Good bowling and some excellent catching in the deep late on saw Bucks post a very modest 104-8. Despite the loss of an early wicket we comfortably got home by a dominant 7 wickets. Qureshi finishing (36 not out) supported by Alsop (21).
Taunton Festival - Wiltshire U14’s vs Cornwall U14’s - 23rd July
Oh dear!! High hopes of an opening days victory over the lads from Cornwall were soon dispelled as we awoke to find rain, rain and even more rain. Several hundred games of ‘one hand one bounce’ in the dormitory corridor, 2 swimming sessions and 2 sports hall sessions just about got us all through what was a very damp day in Taunton.
Wiltshire U14’s vs Gloucestershire U14’s - Sun 8th July - Wiltshire won by 8 wickets
Having suffered several wash outs since the Wales defeat this fixture came about through the help of South Wilts CC. Scheduled to be an away fixture and with all the grounds in Gloucestershire seemingly under water the match was hurriedly rescheduled to the Salisbury club.
Putting the visitors in, Wilts bowled superbly from the off and whilst not taking early wickets runs were always difficult to score. Bailey with a watchful (47) struggled for support as a below par total of 141-9 was posted. Owen Alsop with late wickets (5-19) capturing the bowling spoils.
Any thoughts of the previous games batting collapse were soon allayed as openers Reynolds (31) and Philips (54) simply tore into the Gloucs bowling posting 93 for the first wicket. Victory coming by the most resounding of 8 wicket margins through another decent 43 partnership between Alsop (28 not out) and Qureshi (16 not out).
Real credit should be given to the team for what was an outstanding display against first class opposition.
Wiltshire U14’s vs Wales U14’s - Sun 10th June - Wiltshire lost by 3 wickets
As is always the case this proved to be a very difficult fixture. Electing to bat first on an excellent pitch Wiltshire’s batsman never coped with the extra bounce of the Westbury wicket eventually being all out for just 72 in 36 overs. Only three batters achieving double figures against what was an excellent opening attack of Higginson and Leering. Any thoughts of the Welsh national side coasting to victory were quickly dispelled as Wiltshires opening attack of Merriman (3-23) and Haggaty (2-14) made in roads. At 20-4 things were looking good however that man Burkitt from Gwent with a patient (29) managed to see the visitors home by 3 wickets. Overall the batting was disappointing however the spirit the side showed in the field was exceptional backed by some excellent bowling and several outstanding catches many positives could be taken into our next round of matches.
Wiltshire U14’s vs Gwent U14’s - Thur 7th June - Wiltshire lost by 2 runs
This match can only be described as one whereby the hosts clinched defeat from the jaws of victory. Seemingly cruising to victory at 93-0 through Reynolds (61) and Phillips (42) the hosts slipped away badly losing regular wickets and despite a valiant late effort by Sam Pittman (20) defeat came by the narrowest of 2 run margins.
Earlier in the day all the Wilts bowlers had bowled with great discipline to restrict Gwent to a very get able156-9 from their 45 overs. Grant Burkitt (35) as so often has been the case in previous fixtures proving the main thorn in Wiltshire’s side with a stubborn (35) alongside Knox (40).
Dorset vs Wilts U14s – Sun 3rd June - Wiltshire won by 7 wickets
Finding the Bryanston wicket to be somewhat slow, stand in skipper George Cooper had no hesitation in asking Dorset to take first knock. Despite looking solid both Dorset openers
Carter (81) & Kendrick (24) struggled to score with any real tempo although the base was set for a late flurry which never materialised thanks to good bowling by Gillespie & Haggaty.
Without both Regional batters, on duty for the U15s, 182 was seen as being a real test for the somewhat inexperienced Wiltshire batting line up and the loss of opener Gillespie bowled for nought did nothing to suggest what was to follow as Michael Reynolds and Owain Phillips constructed a superb 130 2nd wicket partnership. Initially watchful, Reynolds played beautifully all around the wicket and Phillips very powerful when playing straight both reached their fifties in the same over. When Phillips was eventually out for a County best 63 the game was all but won as Reynolds finished off proceedings with 92 not out, assisted by Cooper 12 not out.
Marlborough College vs Wilts U14s – Thur 24th May - Marlborough won by 56 runs
Asked to field first Wilts U14s initially contained the College openers such that at the half way stage the score was only 67-1. Wickets in hand and some ordinary bowling enabled a very competent College batting line up to post 205-8 from their 40 overs. Imraj Heer whilst slightly on the expensive side did pick up 3-56.
Needing to start well the reverse was to happen as Wilts limped to 13-1 after 10 overs. The innings however was given momentum by Uzi Qureshi (52) and later on by Sam Pittman (15) however all was very much too late closing on a somewhat disappointing 134-9.
2006 Season
During 2006 the Under 14s played in 12 matches, winning 1 and losing seven 7. There were also 3 losing draws and one cancelled game. However, despite the disappointing results there were still some excellent performances throughout the season.
After a cancelled game against Marlborough College, the season began with a 50 run defeat to the Isle of Wight. On a wicket that benefited the bowler Wiltshire performed admirably with miserly spells bowled by Dominic Webb and Nick Harrison. Jake Roberts’ inclusion also proved valuable as he took four wickets in a twelve ball spell. However, after bowling Isle of Wight out for 140, Wiltshire were unable to chase down the small target and ended up 90 all out. James Howells and Jonty Hancock both gutsed it out for three quarters of an hour to push the score on, but failed to get into double figures.
The following game was against Gwent at Sudbrook CC in a game that they dominated. Gwent scored 301-3 with Imran Hassan scoring 166 as a part of a 221 run opening partnership. The innings of Hassan crushed our confidence and we were subsequently bowled out for 99.
If one county was a problem, the whole of Wales was going to be destructive, and so it proved. Wiltshire, batting first for the first time, again failed to make three figures as the innings never got going. Wiltshire ended up being bowled out for 59. In response, Dominic Webb started with three maidens but those were the only positives as the remaining seven overs to be bowled conceded nine runs per over as we headed towards a 10 wicket defeat.
Against Gloucestershire at Chippenham we narrowly missed out on victory having restricted the first class county to just 197-7. However, despite several batsman making good starts the lower order was unable to take us over the line. 2 more defeats followed against Oxfordshire and again against Wales.
It was now time to move on to the Taunton festival. The M5 ran all the way down to pitch one at Kings School, as 565 runs were scored in an extraordinary day's cricket. After conceding 300 runs for the second time this season we were expected to fall down in front of the First Class county. However, Wiltshire chased for as long as they could manage until exhaustion left them 35 runs short of their target. Notable performances came from Steve Bullen who scored 74 and Owen Alsop who made 58no.
Picking the players up from the previous days exertions was not a difficult proposition as we played Essex. Keeping their feet on the ground after bowling out Essex for 199 in just 45 overs was equally difficult. With the ball, both Dominic Webb and Shaun Dixon bowled well, picking up 3 wickets apiece. Despite some excellent batting, particularly from Steve Bullen and Ben Upton, Essex’s bowling was equally effective at partnership breaking and it was left to Uzi Qureshi to bat out the remaining 15 overs of the game to take Wiltshire through to a losing draw at 171-9.
The third game of the Taunton festival also resulted in a losing draw as Cornwall scored 282-5 and Wiltshire following it up with 179-8. Ben Upton again batted superbly for 86, including 12 fours and a six.
When you have to wait ten matches for your first win of the season, you don’t care if it’s a one wicket win with a leg bye, or a one run win with a dodgy run out. However, if you are going to do it in style, then scoring 250 plus, then bowling out a side for a 102 run win is close to that standard. Wiltshire posted 259-6 declared against Herefordshire who followed this up with 157 all out. Shaun Dixon was again the pick of the bowlers with 3-31 and Jake Roberts enjoyed bowling again with 2-25.
In our final game of the festival and of the season we played Buckinghamshire and started by scoring 222 all out with several batsmen contributing. However, Buckinghamshire chased this down at a canter and scored the runs required in 29.3 overs.
The festival and season finished with us in fifth place.
