Kent Cricket Board District Competition
Monday 15th July 2013
Under 12 and Under 14s District Finals
Ashford Town Cricket Club, Kingsnorth.
14/07/2013
Under 12s Result:Canterbury beat Tunbridge Wells by 72 runs.
Under 14s Result:Maidstone beat Bromley by 4 wickets.
For the first time in three years, the District Finals Day took place on the first scheduled date, in stark contrast to the wash outs of 2011 and 2012, the 2013 date saw temperatures hitting the mid 20s by 10:30 when the first game started.
In the Under 12s game, Tunbridge Wells won the toss and elected to field. Having been put in to bat, Canterbury who were runners up in 2012, made a positive start reaching 50 inside 9 overs, but were never allowed to really kick on with a determined Tunbridge Wells bowling attack taking wickets at regular intervals. Canterbury finished on 155-7 in their 30 overs.
Chasing 156, Tunbridge Wells lost their first wicket in the 7th over with 18 on the board and throughout their innings struggled to develop a partnership in order to steer themselves to the required total. The Canterbury bowling attack, dominated by spin continually applied the pressure which was only partially released by Daniels of Tunbridge Wells, who scored 14 from only 6 balls.
In the 22nd over, Tunbridge Wells lost their last wicket and were all out for 83, leaving Canterbury the under 12 District Champions for 2013, winning by 72 runs.
Bromley, who also returned in 2013 having been runners up in 2012 showed no hesitation in choosing to bat having won the toss. Looking to banish memories from the previous year, having also batted first in 2012 only to be bowled out for 23, the Bromley openers made a steady start reaching 33 in the 8th over before losing the first wicket. However, there was some symmetry with the batting performance of 2012, with only three players scoring double figures with a top score of 35 from Becket at number four. That said, facing a very disciplined bowling attack from Maidstone the Bromley side of 2013 showed far more determination and didn’t lose the last wicket until the 32nd over, reaching a total of 101.
Nerves would have been high for Maidstone, losing their first wicket in the 2nd over. Just as the nerves would have been settling with the second wicket partnership taking Maidstone to 45, Bromley took the all important wicket of Aiken who ended up as the top scorer with 29. With both openers now gone, Bromley piled on the pressure with some phenomenal fielding and another four wickets tumbled, including two catches and a run out. But a calm Maidstone lower order took them over the line with 8.2 overs and four wickets to spare.
The District Competition is the stepping stone between club cricket and the County High Performance Squads and as such is a crucial part of the player pathway in Kent. A number of members of staff from the Kent Cricket Board, including High Performance Coaches and the Director of Operations were present on the day, highlighting the importance of the event. Whilst the quality of proceedings were summed up by Community Cricket Manager, James Moss in the closing presentations stating:
“The maturity of the players and their understanding of the game was outstanding given their age, it was a fantastic day of Cricket and all four teams should walk away proud of their achievements in 2013”.
Congratulations go to all four teams and thanks are extended to all of those involved in the District Competition in 2013, but especially for Ashford Town Cricket Club and CricHQ for their support in making the Finals Day such a fantastic spectacle.
Photo: Pictured: Fabian Weldon, the winner of the CricHQ Most Valuable Player Award, on his way to 35 for Canterbury.