JUNIORS DO IT AGAIN
On an extremely hot and very sunny day in Manchester, Warwick & Worcester juniors took part in the finals of the Junior 6-a-side tournaments at Heaton Park and St Mary's Park in Greater Manchester.
Warwick & Worcester A, consisting of 6 of our more experienced juniors, played in the Main final at Heaton Park, whilst our B & C sides played in the consolation trophy held at St Mary's a few miles down the road.
With both tournaments starting at 10 and with neither venue having much shelter or protection, a long and hard day was expected.
The A side, were in a group of 4 at Heaton Park against North Lancs & Fylde 'A', Greater Manchester 'A' and arguably their toughest challenge Derbyshire 'A'. They started their account at 10am with a game against North Lancs. Playing up to 15 on the card, W&W won 72 to 64. At the same time Derbyshire beat Manchester 89-42. In the second game. In the second game W&W were drawn against Greater Manchester, who they dispatched 90-31, whilst Derby beat North Lancs 79-53. So to the final group game, a winner-takes all clash between ourselves and Derbyshire 'A'. Starting with 3 wins in the first 3 games, W&W went 20 shots up but were pegged back to a lead of 6 in games 4 and 5 until Jack Darling playing at 6 won his final game 15-9 meaning we beat Derby by 12 and progressed to the final where they would me the winners of the other group at Heaton, South Yorkshire.
Split over the two green venue, our first three players went on to green 2 (the one they hadn't played on) and all three got us off to the perfect start winning their games, Ciaran Andrews winning to 11, Ben Pritchard to 5 and Will Clarke also to 11. It was then over to our final 3 players to hold our lead and bring home the cup. Jamie Saunders started us off and fought to a valiant 9. Ryan Hocknull won to 10 and Jack Darling closed out the competition to 9, meaning W&W won that 6-1-side Championship 84-61. Well done Lads!
Competition over at Heaton Park, it was over to St Mary's Park to see how the B and C teams were getting on.
On what was a considerably faster playing surface than Heaton Park, the Greens at St Mary's would be a challenge to the most experienced bowlers.
Our C-team, compiled from some of our younger, least experienced, but most enthusiastic players, were playing in a group of four against Cheshire B, Lancashire and North Midlands B.
They opened their account with a game against Lancashire, and whilst having a couple of winners unfortunately lost 53-74. In their second game they were playing Cheshire B. Warwickshire C had 4 out of 6 winners, but again, just lost by 8 shot, 70-78. In their final group game, our C's played local rivals North Midlands B who were also too strong and won 82-40. Unfortunately that was the end of the C-teams participation for the day.
Both Sarah and myself, cannot express how proud we are of these youngsters on what was a very challenging day. I have to pay praise to Mikey Hall who won all three of his games today and also to Paige Hall who won two and lost 14-15 in her other.
The B-team, were playing in a group of five against North Mids A, Cheshire A, Greater Manchester A and North Lancs and Fylde B.
In their opening game, they played Greater Manchester B. Our B-side were too powerful for them and we had 6 winners, beating them 90-19. In the second game against a stronger Cheshire A, W&W had two winners and unfortunately lost 53-76. The third round was a bye round for our team, so they had to sit out for about an hour. In round Four we played local rivals again in North Mids A. In a very tight game it was decided by 4-shots where North Mids just edged us out 73-69.
Time was getting on now and the A-side had joined the party at St Mary's for the remainder of the match, but unfortunately the weather had taken its toll. For the fifth round Warwickshire B's were scheduled to play North Lancs & Fylde and Cheshire were to play Greater Manchester, but unfortunately both teams withdrew from the competition due to players suffering from both sun and heat stroke. This meant both teams were awarded walkovers and meant that Cheshire topped the group and progressed to the final against North Midlands B who had been waiting around for about an hour for the final. Cheshire won the final 78-53.
Sarah and myself would like to thank all the parents and supports, not just at this game but at the previous junior county games held in May and June for your support and help around the greens, Also to Jayne Bates who stepped in as a third team manager when we needed help. But most importantly to all the Juniors that played for Warwick & Worcester over the 3 events. Whether you are one of the newbies playing in your first competitive games or one of the three experienced players who unfortunately bow out of Junior County tournaments, Will Clarke, Jack Darling and Jamie Woodhouse, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you... You've done yourselves proud, but also been a credit to our association.
Warwick & Worcesters' three sides from today are listed below and full results and scores can be seen by clicking HERE to visit the BCGBA website.
Darren Andrews
Chair, Junior County Selection
Sarah Hall
Junior County Link Officer
| Warwick & Worcester A | Warwick & Worcester B | Warwick & Worcester C |
|---|---|---|
| Ciaran Andrews | Taylor Bishop | Alfie Cushings |
| Will Clarke | Jack Cushings | Brooke Hall |
| Jack Darling | Blake Hall | Mikey Hall |
| Ryan Hocknull | Megan Hall | Paige Hall |
| Ben Pritchard | Daniel Sterland | Kieran Saunders |
| Jamie Saunders | Jamie Woodhouse | Lilly Warr |
