Gloucestershire U12s won the English Schools Cricket Association Festival for the first time at this age group.

The five-day festival at Kings College Taunton put Gloucestershire up against Lancashire, Somerset, Devon, Hampshire and the South African team from St Stithians College.

The week started with a 45 over match against St Stithians. Gloucestershire won the toss and decided to field first.

The Gloucestershire bowlers bowled well with wickets for Jack Studley 3 (Winterbourne), Toby Rice 1 (Lodway) and Taylor Ireland 1 (Frocester) but the strong South Africian team played the spin well and went on to post a score of 177 runs.

Gloucestershire had not been tested at this level all season but were hopeful that they could be successful in their chase.

Gloucestershire batted well with opener Ollie McConkey (Reading) hitting a quick 24. A sensible and mature knock of 54 by captain Ben French (Frocester), hitting his first county 50 and huge 6, turned the game back in favour of Gloucestershire and secured the win with 181 runs on the board.

The rain effected play on Tuesday and a decision was taken to play a reduced overs match against Hampshire.

The outfield still wet and the wicket damp and sticky, Gloucestershire were sent into bat by the opposition. Hampshire quickly dismissed the opening bats but good knocks from Ben French 19 (Frocester), Jack Studley 24 (Winterbourne) and Taylor Ireland 21* (Frocester) meant the team went to lunch with 118 runs on the board from their 25 overs.

Finally the sun appeared and a confident and together Gloucestershire team returned to the field.

Hampshire started well until Sam Brooks (YMCA) took the bails of the opener Dhariwal, from this point Gloucestershire spinners took control and wickets started to fall.

Will Maxwell (Winterbourne) and Taylor Ireland (Frocester) both on for hat tricks during the game and a stunning one handed catch by Will Maxwell (Winterbourne) added extra excitement.

Taylor Irelands 4-24-4 and last over run out rewarded Gloucestershire with the victory.

After a washout on Wednesday, a sun-drenched Thursday saw two 25 over matches being played andl rivals Somerset were first to face Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire were sent into bat by Somerset and a changed opening pair saw Ollie McConkey (Reading) and Sobhan Ifran (Downend) go to the crease.

A couple of quick wickets put Gloucestershire on the back foot. A focused Ben French (Frocester) went into bat scoring quick 22 and supported by Jack Studley 19 (Winterbourne) and Taylor Ireland 12* (Frocester) and with 42 extras this set Somerset a target of 133.

Gloucestershire opened the innings with Ahmed Tabraiz (Bristol Pakistan) who bowled a tight first over and with Jack Studley (Winterbourne) taking the first wicket in the second over.

With just 31 runs on the board after 9 overs, Gloucestershire confidence grew and the passion and enthusiasm started to really show on the field. A change in bowling saw Ben McShane (Charlton Kings) and Dubs Wood (Cheltenham) come on to bowl, after his first over Ben McShane (Charlton Kings) had to leave the field due to injury and was replaced by Will Maxwell (Winterbourne).

Consistently good bowling from Jack Studley 5-2-21 – (Winterbourne), Will Maxwell 5-4-18 (Winterbourne) and Dubs Wood 4-1-17 (Cheltenham) and two superb run outs by Soloman Dark (Winterbourne) won the game for Gloucestershire and put them top of the table.

After a quick lunch break, the game against Lancashire billed by the Gloucestershire boys as the game of the tournament got underway. Winning the toss, Gloucestershire put Lancashire into bat.

A dropped catch in the first over shook the confidence of the Gloucestershire supporters but not to disappoint the boys came back strong.

The reliable Jack Studley (Winterbourne) took the first two wickets of the game which started the collapse of the Lancashire batting line up.

An good catch by Ollie McConkey (Reading) and confident catch of a high ball on the boundary by Ben French (Frocester) gave Dubs Wood (Cheltenham) two successive wickets.

Good fielding positions set by a hyped Captain Ben French (Frocester) resulted in excellent fielding by the team and a brace of wickets for Will Maxwell (Winterbourne) and Taylor Ireland (Frocester) which left Lancashire all out for 73.

A slow start and the dismissal of Sobhan Irfan (Downend) gave Ollie McConkey (Reading) and Ben French (Frocester) the crease.

The partnership worked extremely well and Gloucestershire quickly started to regain control with both boys hitting out with 17 from one over. An impressive knock by Ollie McConkey (Reading) of 53* and the supportive role of Ben French (Frocester) 12* provided the team with the win in the 18th over.

The last game of the tournament saw Gloucestershire play Devon.

This 35 over game started in cold and cloudy conditions. Gloucestershire went out to bat needing just 3 points from the game to secure the tournament title.

A very slow start to the game gave concerns that the 125 runs needed may be out of reach to secure the 3 points in the first innings.

Tommy Boorman (Dumbleton) batted well for 33, Soloman Dark (Winterbourne) a securing 22, an exciting knock from Dubs Wood (Cheltenham) scoring 19 off 18 balls and the recovered Ben McShane (Charlton Kings) scoring 11 allowed Gloucestershire to secure the tournament title before lunch.

Devon had to chase down 159 runs to stop Gloucestershire winning 5 from 5.

Devon lost their first wicket to some excellent and accurate pace bowling from Jack Alway (Hanham) and with a score board reading 0 for 2 after 6 the game looked like it would be an easy win for Gloucestershire.

A fly over from the Red Arrows stopped play with the young cricketers and umpires looking up to the sky. Play resumed and Devon dug deep and blocked out well for the next 25 overs making it hard for the Gloucestershire bowlers to take wickets.

Sam Brooks (YMCA) quickly whipped the bails off to dismiss the Devon top scorer giving Toby Rice (Lodway) the third wicket of the game. Devon started to hit out but the Gloucestershire fielding was sharp with Will Maxwell (Winterbourne) and Ben McShane (Charlton Kings) leading the way.

An unbelievable catch and run out by Will Maxwell (Winterbourne) saw Dubs Wood (Cheltenham) take two wickets and set up the run out in the last over of the game.

The Gloucestershire boys were crowned tournament winners during the presentation ceremony in a packed Kings College sports hall and then celebrate outside the main pavilion with sparkling apple juice.