U13s Boys County Age Group - 2023 Season Review & Award Winners
23 October 2023
This year’s Under 13 County team had a successful season, winning the majority of their games and producing some memorable moments throughout the summer.
They began their campaign with a heavy loss to London Schools then had 2 comfortable victories over Wiltshire in the T20 format and then a fine 3 wicket success over Wales. The next 4 games saw the team fluctuate in performance but then went on a big development curve, whereby they really learnt what it took to achieve success both as a team and individuals.
The squad arrived at the Taunton festival in July and suffered 2 disappointing results on the opening days and morale was undoubtably low but from then on to the rest of the season the players really grew as a group both on and off the field and results went their way which culminated in a 9 match winning streak that some say was down to the appearance of a portable flagpole some 20 feet high with the Gloucestershire flag installed at every ground by a kindly parent!
The team all performed with great credit, and in many of the matches their spirit really shone through and it was very pleasing to see so many wicket takers including joint top duo Oliver Freebury and Finley Sherred-Isles with 22 each and they were also certainly backed up with strong fielding displays lead by wicket keeper Archie Jackson whereby the opposition found it very difficult to score at times and they always looked out for each other and encouraged well when circumstances went against them. Opposition players and coaches often remarked also on how well disciplined and behaved they were out on the field.
The team performance of the year came against Derbyshire both home and away. Bearing in mind that Derby had defeated Lancashire, Somerset, Cheshire, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire twice, the players managed to produce two all round displays to win by 7 and 4 wickets respectively including a fine spell of bowling from Sam Beardsmore in the home fixture taking 5 for 16 and Hugo Bush scoring 140 runs across the 2 games without being dismissed.
It was an extremely enjoyable summer for all involved and the squad played with humility, passion, skill and a huge desire to improve every game and were a superb advertisement for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and can feel very proud of how they played and conducted themselves on and off the field.
Performance of the Year:
This award could easily been shared between 3 players but this match winning performance stood out for not only the level of opposition it was against but also the skill it took on a very warm day. This young cricketer showed discipline and great consistency with his pace bowling to demolish the Derbyshire batting line and then most deservedly pick up his 5th wicket when coming back for a second spell. He returned figures of 5 for 16 from 6.4 overs that hugely assisted his team dismissing their opponents out for a meagre 125. The U13s Boys performance of the year goes to Sam Beardsmore.
Player of the Year:
During the season, this individual was the absolute mainstay of the team. His displays for Gloucestershire this summer could not be ignored. He has genuinely developed in to an allrounder who has also managed to captain the side on a handful of occasions too, but it is his batsmanship this year that has carried the team to numerous victories, and in fact has scored over 25% of the squad's total runs for the campaign. This player's potential for the future will be extremely interesting to witness and with 7 scores of over 40 including a fine 123 not out against Oxfordshire contributed a long way to his tally of 611 runs at an average of 50.91. He also managed to take vital wickets with his right arm fast outswingers and picked up 18 dismissals at an average of 13.17. He is already a fine cricketer amongst his peers but is also now turning in to a young man with many positive attributes far ahead of his tender years. The under 13 boys player of the year award goes to Hugo Bush.
