Glos county and district youth cricket round-up

Gloucestershire Under 17 Girls suffered a narrow nine run defeat to Wales in their first County Championship match of the season.

In excellent bowling conditions captain Mollie Robbins (Hanham) won the toss and asked Wales to bat first.

But the Welsh opening pair of Rose Evans and Alexandra Griffiths looked confident and added 31 before Ellie Wookey (1-7) (Bristol Phoenix) had Evans caught and bowled for 13.

At the other end Eve Alder (Cirencester) bowled well but with little luck finishing her spell with 0-5 from five overs. Despite the breakthrough, Wales continued to accumulate runs with new batsman Georgina Parfitt striking the ball well and with some purpose.

With runs coming and some half chances not quite being taken, Robbins decided to bring Danielle Gibson (Dumbleton) and Eva Shoemark (North Cotswolds Young Cricketers) into the attack.

Gibson struck with her fifth ball to remove the opener Griffiths (25) and this triggered a spell when wickets fell regularly.

With the Glos fielders backing their bowlers well, the Welsh innings stuttered and when the dangerous Parfitt was caught on 32 off Shoemark the Welsh middle and lower order collapsed.

Gibson finished with 2-28, Shoemark took 2-10 and there were also wickets for legspinner Natasha Smith (2-14) (Frocester) and the accurate Emily Wilson (3-16) (Bristol Phoenix).

Lleucu George added a late cameo 17 as Welsh were bowled out for 125.

In reply Glos were reduced to 24-3 but recovered through Gibson and Natasha Wraith (Frenchay) who combined to put on the biggest partnership of the match.

Both players set about the Welsh attack with real maturity and purpose and began to take the game away from Wales.

But with one over before drinks, Gibson misread a turning ball and was stumped for 46 (including eight 4s).

At drinks Glos were on 97-4 and Wraith was joined at the crease by Wookey.

Shortly after the break Wraith bowled for 28 (five 4s) but at 105-5 there was no need to panic with just 21 more needed.

However the pressure was beginning to tell and as Wales sensed an unlikely victory they bowled straight and began to field with more urgency.

Led by Sophie Thomas (3-6) and George (3-10) the visitors ripped through the middle and lower order, bowling them all out for 116.

The Under 17s face Somerset on July 7 before the return match against Wales the following day.

Gloucestershire Under 10 Boys v Devon Under 10 Boys (at Frocester CC), July 3 Friendly Devon 174-8 (40 overs) Gloucestershire 176-5 (36 overs) Gloucestershire won by 5 wickets

Gloucestershire U10 Boys continued their unbeaten run with a superb five wicket victory over Devon at Frocester’s Pounds Close on Sunday.

Devon won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat on a wicket that looked full of runs and a fast outfield.

Devon’s opening bat, Harry Southgate, took full advantage with a high quality century that included 17 boundaries.

However, Gloucestershire faced up to the challenge and responded with some excellent bowling and fielding. Billy Benson (1-16), Freddie Sharp (1-16) (both Dumbleton) and Max Dunne (1-16) (Frocester) took wickets, working their way through the Devon top order.

But Southgate – who escaped a couple of spurned chances - remained unperturbed, punishing any loose deliveries with fine strokes to the boundary.

At the 28 over drinks break, Devon were in a strong position at 129-3, but, once again the home team raised their game.

Accurate bowling from Dunne, Lysander Tarrant (0-22) (Bourton Vale) and Spencer Gammon (0-3) (Whitchurch) slowed the scoring rate slowed.

And in the final overs it was the athleticism and agility of the Gloucestershire fielders that shone through with four run-outs - the highlight a direct hit by Sharp.

The late flurry of wickets saw Devon close on 174-8 in 40 overs with skipper Southgate (113*) carrying his bat.

In reply Glos got off to a bad start, losing James Austin (Winterbourne) for five and Sharp for two to leave the total on 13-2.

Opener Gus Carini-Roberts (Aston Ingham) was then joined by Woody Walker (Cirencester) and they put on a partnership of 54.

Walker struck six boundaries in an innings of 35 before being caught by Harry Williams off Ollie Gribble.

He was replaced by Gammon, who continued the good work, striking several powerful shots before he was run out for 19.

Carini-Roberts fell for an excellent 45 and at 117-5 from 27 overs the game was in the balance.

The tension was reflected in the hush that fell over the large group of friends and family present. But, as has been the case so often this season Ottie Landale (Cirencester) and Benson rose to the challenge.

Both played some delightful shots in a partnership of 61 in nine overs, as Gloucestershire raced to an emphatic and convincing victory. Landale finished on 31 not out and Benson on 29 not out.

Gloucestershire manager Eric Woodmason said: “This was a very mature performance, with the boys showing they can rise to any challenge. They’re a very exciting group to work with. It’s rare, probably unique, for a 10-year old to score a century and still be on the losing team!”

Gloucestershire Under 11 Boys v Worcestershire Under 11 Boys (at Cookley CC), July 3 Friendly Gloucestershire 136-9 Worcestershire 98 all out Gloucestershire won by 38 runs

Gloucestershire U11 Boys continued there fine start to the season with a 38 run win over Worcestershire at Cookley Cricket Club.

The win was set up thanks to some aggressive batting from Jack Studley (24) (Winterbourne) and Ahmed Tabriaz (29) (Pak Bristolians).

It was backed up with an excellent spell from Soban Irfan (3-10) (Downend) and a good team fielding performance.

After winning the toss and electing to bat Gloucestershire got off to a solid start thanks to an opening partnership of 24 between Ben McShane and Kai Werry (both Charlton Kings) on what looked a difficult track to score runs freely on.

Werry was dismissed for 4 by Whitton, and then two wickets quickly fell as Soloman Dark (Rockhampton) was dismissed for 0 following a beauty from the same bowler. McShane (18) followed LBW to leave Gloucestershire 34-3 in the 14th over.

Jack Studley (24) and Hayden Wood (19) (Cheltenham) built a solid partnership to get Gloucestershire back in control of the game with both batsman playing some attractive shots and running well between the wickets.

The partnership was broken as Ali had Wood trapped LBW with the score on 58. Ellis Luker (Tewkesbury) fell shortly after, caught behind for 2 also off of Ali. When Studley became the bowler’s third victim, Glos had slipped to 84-6.

Tabriaz (29) came to the wicket and looked in good form, working the ball around the ground well and picking up ones and twos to keep the board ticking along. He was ably supported by the tail to ensure the away side ended the innings on 136-9 off of 40 overs.

In reply Worcestershire lost their first wicket with only nine on the board as opener Cox was bowled by Jack Always (Hanham) for one.

Fellow opener Walker (29) looked in an aggressive mood as he hit a flurry of boundaries to try and take the game away from Gloucestershire.

But the introduction of Irfan soon ended that plan as he pegged the home side back bowling a tight line and good length. He took three quick wickets and had a hand in a run out to leave the home side 41-5 in the 16th over.

Gloucestershire continued to build pressure and Toby Rice (Lodway) came into the attack and took two more quick wickets to leave the home side 59-7 at drinks.

The visitors were made to work hard for the last three wickets as Worcestershire dug in.

But a further run out and the return of Always, soon cleared up the tail and saw the home side bowled out for 98, 38 runs short of their target.

After the win Gloucestershire coach Olly Ralph said: “It was really pleasing to continue our winning start to the season, to get another win against a neighbouring county and to defend such a low total.

“We had some fantastic individual performances today both Jack and Ahmed were brilliant with the bat and Soban was excellent with the ball.”

Gloucestershire Under 14 Boys v Cornwall Under 14 Boys (at Gloucester City Winget CC), July 3 ECB Royal London Under 14 Group 3 Gloucestershire 43 all out (23.4 overs) Cornwall 44-1 (10 overs)

Cornwall won by nine wickets Gloucestershire Under 14s suffered a nine-wicket defeat to Cornwall on a difficult pitch at Gloucester City Winget.

The home side failed to adapt to the testing conditions as they were bowled out for 43 in the 24th over.

Under 13 Kunal Barman (12) (Old Bristolians Westbury) was the only player to battle to double figures on a difficult afternoon for the hosts.

In response, Cyrus Shafi (Bristol YMCA) took the only wicket to fall as Cornwall reached their target in the tenth over.

District Matches Bristol Under 13 v Cheltenham and Cotswolds Under 13 (at Frenchay CC), July 3 Cheltenham & Cotswolds 145-7 (35 overs) Bristol 146-7 (26 overs) Bristol won by three wickets Bristol Under 13 beat Cheltenham and Cotswolds (C&C) in a top of the table clash after chasing down 146-7 to win by three wickets.

Krish Manesh (Bristol YMCA) made 36 and Harry Dell (Bristol) scored 30 as the home side reached their target on the 26th over.

Earlier C&C won the toss but struggled against the accurate Bristol bowling attack.

Wickets for Ben Ramus (1-13) (Bristol YMCA), Stoke Bishop pair Ollie Steer (1-15) and Philip Van Der Walt 1-23 (Stoke Bishop) and a run out saw the visitors slip to 34-4 after 11 overs.

But a sixth wicket stand of 72 between Joel Birchmore (55) (Charlton Kings) and Jack Romaneck (31) on debut moved the score onto 128 before the former was ran out by a direct hit from Dheeran Canagarajah (Stoke Bishop).

Bristol bowlers Matt Trenchard (1-9) (Keynsham) and Manesh (1-15) took further wickets as the visitors set a target of 146 in 35 overs.

Bristol lost Canagarajah with the first ball of the innings - well caught by Romaneck on the boundary.

Further poor shot selection saw the hosts struggling on 9-2 before a 36 run partnership between Manesh and Renel Stewart (7) recovered the situation.

C&C were fielding well and holding their catches, off spinner Dan Sampson (Lechlade) took 2-22 before Dell's powerful innings came to a close - bowled by Ben Markwick (1-15) (Winchcombe).

The hosts were within touching distance of victory and it took Liam Elston (12*) (Bristol YMCA) and Charlie Morris (11*) (Keynsham) to see Bristol over the line with nine overs remaining.

Bristol still top the table with 36 points from their five matches with C&C second on 20 points after four of their six matches.

District Round-up Cheltenham and Cotswolds (C&C) U11s secured a winning draw over Bristol after scoring 125-5 and restricting the visitors to 117-7.

Jack Thorn (Poulton) topscored with 64 for the home side, before Harry Dawson (Cheltenham) impressed with 3-13 as Bristol fell 8 runs short.

The result extends Cheltenham’s lead over Bristol at the top of the group to 16 points.

In the Under 12s district competition, Stroud and South Gloucestershire (SSG) picked up a winning draw against Gloucester and the Forest of Dean (GFOD).

Hugo Carey (33) (Cam), Jonny Edwards (40) (Frocester) and Ed Dryell (30 not out) (Downend) all made major contributions as SSG posted 160-8 from their 30 overs. Tewkesbury’s Louis Whitmore was the pick of the bowlers for GFOD, taking 2-17 from his six overs.

In reply GFOD never looked like reaching their target, with only three players reaching double figures. Wickets were shared around the SSG attack with Joe Moss (Frenchay), taking (3-14) and Dryell and Carey capping good allround performances with 2-13 and 2-19 respectively.

A battling display by GFOD ensured they finished eight down, securing themselves two points for not being bowled out and depriving SSG the outright win.