District Under 11 Boys: Festivals
U11 Festival 2007
U11 District Cricket was revamped this year and promoted as an independent competition giving it greater status than in previous years when the competition acted purely as a means of selecting players for the County U11 trial. Each district was provided with the opportunity to purchase District clothing through Surridge and all players received a District cap to develop their sense of identity.
The result of this was a two day festival held at Dauntsey School that was incredibly competitive, keenly contested and marked out by the enthusiasm and commitment shown by all players. Huge credit must go to each of the District coaches and managers who worked with the players during a 6 week coaching programme prior to the Festival. Their input was evident in the level of fielding displayed by the teams, particularly Kennet, and the genuine pleasure that all players displayed when celebrating wickets with their team-mates.
On the field the quality of performance was impressive across all teams albeit with few outstanding individuals although the batting of James Gillespie (North West) and the bowling of Tom Alsop (Kennet) did shine through. Other notable performances were put in by Patrick Grieshaber (North West), Harrison Painter (Kennet), and Ollie Weaver of West Wilts.
The first day of the festival saw Kennet set the pace with excellent victories over Salisbury and North East whilst North West disposed of West Wilts and North East quite comfortably racking up 120-2 and 110-5 from 20 overs respectively. The second day saw a quite breathtaking game between Kennet and North East with both teams sharing the points after both had got into good positions to win the match. Salisbury eased past North East with a good middle order batting performance that put the game out of reach. The match forecast to be the crunch game between North West and Salisbury turned out to be a play off for second place with Kennet already having racked up 3 wins and a tie to win the competition. North West were the victors putting them second, Salisbury finishing third with West Wilts fourth and North East, a newly formed district this year finishing in fifth place.
With players being watched by the U10 and U11 county coach and manager there were plenty of opportunities to impress to claim a trial place and the overall standard meant that selecting players for trial was a difficult task in itself. The trials take place on the 15th May for U10 and 20th May for U11 where the squads for the summer games will be selected.
Thanks go to Andy Palmer and Dauntsey School for providing a superb venue for the Festival and we look forward to their continued support next year.
Final Standings
| Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Total Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennet | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 19 |
| North West | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 18 |
| Salisbury | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 16 |
| West Wilts | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| North East | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
5 points for a win; 4 points for a tie; 3 points for a loss.
