Bristol County Ground to host U19 Club T20 Finals this Sunday
28 August 2015
Hatherley and Reddings Hurricanes, North Cotswolds Young Cricketers (NCYC), Thornbury Thunder and Bristol Buccaneers will play at the home of Gloucestershire Cricket this Sunday in the first ever county Under 19 T20 Finals Day.
The four teams – renamed for the competition - will do battle at the Bristol County Ground after winning their groups.
The Thunder will take on Buccaneers in the first semi-final at 10.30am before the Hurricances face NCYC at 1.45pm. The winners of both matches will go head-to-head in the final at 5.15pm. Entry is free.
The day will feature music, live commentary and bars and food outlets will be open for refreshment.
For a taste of the action watch the video below:
Competition organizer and Gloucestershire Cricket Board (GCB) community coach said everything was in place for a fantastic finale to the inaugural tournament.
He said: “For these young players to have the chance to follow in the footsteps of so many greats of the game and play at the Bristol County Ground will be a wonderful experience for them.
“It has been a great competition, the players and their clubs have really embraced it. Entry is free on Sunday so we are hoping supporters will come down and help create and electric atmosphere on finals day.”
The competition – which is sponsored by Plumbase - is part of a national initiative to stop players in their late-teens dropping out of cricket.
Teams have worn coloured clothing, played with pink balls and have been awarded bonus points based on the quality of the match day experience they provide – from live music to fairground attractions.
On the pitch Hurricanes, Buccaneers and NCYC all qualified for finals day with 100% records, winning all four of their matches while Thornbury won three and lost one.
Three of the finalists have been helped by impressive performances from their bowlers. NCYC’s Ollie Currill – who is on the Gloucestershire Academy –Hurricanes’ allrounder Rob Dent and Thunder spinner Danny Slade top the county wicket takers with nine each.
Currill’s haul includes a remarkable spell of 5-1 v Frocester Foxes – the fourth best figures in the competition nationally. Nationally the best bowling came from Thornbury’s Jack Gillett with 6-10 off 2.2 overs against Brislington Stags.
With the bat, players to look out for on finals day include Bristol Buccanneers’ Jack Ellison who is the third highest runscorer in Gloucestershire with 116 and Marc Lezar (Thornbury) who had made 104 in just two innings.
Unfortunately the competition’s top three runscorers so far will not be present after their teams failed to reach the last four.
Gloucester City Winget Saxons pair Noah Cooper Llanes (176) and Jack Whiting (153) are first and second ahead of James Walters (136) (Cheltenham Chiefs).
The highest individual score in Gloucestershire came from Marshfield Maverick’s Jeremy Bond who struck 67. He is also the top six-hitter in the county and the second nationally with 12 maximums in just three innings.
