Gloucestershire players to support next generation as county boys squads announced
11 April 2014
Gloucestershire CCC players will help support the next generation of county cricketers following the launch of a new mentoring programme.
Two ‘Age Group Ambassadors’ have been allocated to each county junior squad to offer encouragement and advice during the 2014 season.
In total, 20 players are taking part including former New Zealand international Hamish Marshall who will work with the Under 11 boys and ex-captain Alex Gidman who has been assigned to the girls Under 13 team.
Over the course of the season the players will send regular email and video messages to their squads. They will also attend matches when their own fixtures allow.
The county junior boys summer squads have just been announced and Gloucestershire Cricket Board head of performance Tim Hancock said the players would jump at the chance to pick up some tips from their heroes.
He said: “This will give the players in our county age groups a real boost. As aspiring cricketers it will be great for them have someone to look up to who has made it to the top of the game.
“To receive a message from one of the pros congratulating them on their performance will hopefully act as a reward for their hard work and provide an extra source of motivation.”
Junior county players will also be able to watch their ambassadors in action as they have all been given free membership to GCCC for 2014.
The Gloucestershire Cricket Board runs 12 county squads including boys’ teams at every age group from Under 10 to Under 17. There are also girls under 13, 15, 17 teams and a senior women’s squad.
Junior players from 38 Gloucestershire affiliated clubs have been selected for this year’s summer boys’ county age groups. The women’s and girl’s squads will be announced later this month.
Thornbury (nine) supplied more players than any other to this year’s county programme. Cirencester have seven players in the squads including three from the same family – twins Kit and Louis Staley are both in the Under 11s while big brother Ludo is in the Under 12s. Frocester also have seven players while Cheltenham, Downend and Winterbourne all have six.
Cheltenham and Cotswolds clubs were responsible for 40 players, Stroud and South Gloucestershire produced 34, Bristol 24 and Gloucester and the Forest of Dean seven.
Tim said: “It is great to see that clubs from right across the county and from all levels of the pyramid are producing good young players. This can only strengthen the pool of talent we have to pick from going forward.”
Last year Gloucestershire’s Under 17 boys won their ECB one-day competition and the Senior Women were promoted from their T20 division. The Under 17 girls finished top of their county championship and three other age groups were runners-up in their respective competitions.
Tim added: “The reports from our county coaches are that our youngsters have worked really well during the winter and we hope to build on the success we had last season.”
In addition to the county programme there are also teams for each of the Gloucestershire’s four districts from under 11 to under 15 level. To view the 2014 boys’ county and district squads in full visit http://www.gloucestershirecricketboard.com/news/boys-performance-squads-announced-0
GCB Age Group Ambassadors 2014
Boys
Under 10 – Hamish Marshall & Chris Dent
Under 11 – Dan Housego & Matt Taylor
Under 12 – Cameron Herring & Graeme McCarter
Under 13 – Liam Norwell & Gareth Roderick
Under 14 – Benny Howell & Tom Smith
Under 15 – Ian Cockbain & Craig Miles
Under 16 – Ian Saxelby
Under 17 – Will Gidman
Girls
Under 13 – Alex Gidman & Tom Shrewsbury
Under 15 – Jack Taylor & Will Tavaré
Under 17 – David Payne
Senior Women – James Fuller
