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Academy pair feature for South West in U17 national comp

30 August 2016

Gloucestershire Academy batsman Jordan Garrett made 76 off just 66 balls to help the South West (SW) reach the final of the England Development Programme Under 17 Super 4s competition.

Having come in at number three with the score on 0-1, his innings secured an eight wicket victory over the previously unbeaten North as the SW chased down their target of 194 in the 36^th over.

The four-team competition at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough is an annual tournament designed to put the best young talent in the country against one another.

Glos Academy allrounder Tom Price – who like Jordan is only 15 - also represented the SW at the competition which ran from August 23-27.

Rain on Saturday prevented the final from being completed but the North were crowned champions for the third time in four years based on net run rate from the group stage.

They had bowled the SW out for 179 when the game was called off.

Despite this, David Graveney, chairman of selectors for the EDP and Mo Bobat, the ECB’s Player Identification Lead and EDP Operations Manager said the fourth Super-4 week was still a success

Mo said: “We have two major objectives for the week, first, to have the best players in the country in the Under-17s age group playing with and against the other best players, in pressure situations. And second, for us to find out more about all the players involved, on and off the field.

“It means that as well as observing the cricket, our scouts can sit with the players and coaches during the games – a rare and valuable opportunity. And both the scouts and the coaches really strengthen our relationships with the counties.”

David Graveney highlighted an extra significance in this year’s competition.

He said: “I said at the beginning of the week to everyone involved that the guys in the room were the guys who are likely to form the England team for the ICC Under-19s World Cup in New Zealand in 2018.

“This has been an important staging point for all of them.

“The quality and intensity of the cricket has improved in each of the four years we’ve run the Super-4s. Anyone who watched the matches this week would have every right to be positive about the future of English cricket.”

Another Glos Academy player, Ben Charlesworth ,made 27 and 62 for a combined South West and London and East Under 15 team v North and Midlands in a three day match from August 28-30.

To view the scorecard click here

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