Junior Review – 2013

Although the weather was very cold and we had quite a bit of rain right up until July we didn’t miss one single Monday evening training session due to the weather. We were not so lucky with the girls who lost three out of seventeen Tuesday evening sessions.
We had 83 boys and 34 girls register in 2013 which was an overall increase of 10% on last year. Our coach/player ratio was 1/4.5 which is well in excess of ECB minimum requirements. We are very fortunate to have so many dedicated coaches who have taken so much time in obtaining qualifications and we now have one ECB Level 3 and one UKCC3 level coach, three UKCC2 level coaches, six UKCC1 level coaches and four ECB level one coaches. Two new coaches attended an introduction to coaching course last spring. On top of this they have all attended first aid and safeguarding children courses and individuals have taken ‘safe hands’ and specific courses relating to teaching people with disabilities and teaching in schools. All in all quite a commitment.

We entered teams in the East Surrey Colts League at u9,11,12,14 and 15 levels, the Surrey County Cup at u15 level, the Capel 6-a-Side at u9 & 11 levels and the girls entered the Surrey Youth Games representing Mole Valley and the Surrey Club Girls Competition at u11 and u13 levels. The girls also had the opportunity to play Kwik Cricket at the Oval and to visit Lords.

One very disappointing aspect of this season has been the lack of reporting by the Dorking Advertiser. The back page has been dominated by football, the inside page just to local first team cricket, then, for some reason, there is a whole page devoted to Surrey CCC and the final page covers other sports. During the football season junior football alone covers over one whole page! Junior reports, school cricket reports and girls cricket reports are just ignored with the result that local readers will believe that young people just do not play cricket. I have asked Surrey CCC to write to the paper to see if the position can be rectified for next season.

The following are reports on each section of the coaching department.

John Callcut

Under 7s

As a result of Chance to Shine we have seen an increase in much younger children coming to the club. They have been introduced to cricket by Caroline Clark, Simon Capel, Annette Jordan and Dan Jones. Both Simon and Dan were colts themselves and they are now bringing their children to the cricket.

Under 9s

Won 3, Lost 5, Cancelled 2, Abandoned 1 – Position in League 8th

This group were ably coached by Stephen Kehl, Cameron Osborne and Roger Bailey at the south end of the ground on Monday evenings. Barry Jordan and Mike Ashkuri looked after the matches. Congratulations must go to Samuel Clark who represented Surrey at under 9 level. Many of the players were brand new to the game at the start of the season so formalised matches seemed very strange to them. Gradually they got used to the disciplines of cricket and the managers were delighted with the progress as gradually they started winning matches. Their position of 8th out of thirteen teams bodes well for 2014.

Under 11s

Won 5, Lost 2, Cancelled 2 – Position in the League 3rd

This group were coached by Paul Griffiths and Barry Jordan on Monday evenings with Barry managing the matches. After a slow start, which included losing to Capel in the cup, the team got into their stride and played some excellent cricket finishing in a creditable third position. Both the u9s and u11s played in the excellently organised Capel 6-a-Side competition.

Under 12s

Won 2, Lost 3, Cancelled 3, Opposition conceded 1 – Position in the League 5th

Ross Hamilton and Charlie Major coached the under 13 group. Ross looked after the matches and conducted extra training on Friday evenings. A real highlight was, back in the winter, when he invited the former West Indian captain, Jimmy Adams, to meet this group and answer questions on the game. Once again this group were badly effected by the weather and only played five matches. The propensity for bowling wides cost the team dearly so much work must be done in this area. Ross entered the side in the Sussex Junior Cricket Festival which took place in August. We played some really good cricket, winning three matches, losing one to the weather and only losing to a very strong Ifield team. One sensed a feel feeling of improvement as the week progressed.

Under 14s

Won 5, Lost 3, Abandoned 1 – Position in the League 4th

The under 14s passed all expectations as we witnessed so many players improving their game. It was also good to see many of this group taking advantage of the nets after school and throughout the holidays and practicing their skills. It is difficult to pick out any individuals because this was a real team effort. It was pretty well an u14 side that took on the mid week adult side at the end of the season and amidst much excitement won off the last ball!

Under 15s

Won 5, Lost 0, Cancelled 1 – Position in the League 1st

This group was trained by John & Richard Callcut, Dev Patel and there was some useful input from Andy Meads, Dan Jones and Hiten Patel. Most of the training took place in the nets but players were taken individually to examine and practice, week by week, different shots in great detail. John Callcut managed the matches. Four clubs at this age group dropped out of the league as they could not raise sides so the league only consisted of seven teams. We won five and the match against second placed Lingfield was cancelled owing to wet weather which was a shame as we always have good games with them. The side played some excellent cricket and thoroughly deserved their success in winning the league. The hardest match was against Sanderstead when the opposition had the game in the bag until we secured a wicket, and despite the almost hopeless position there was suddenly a buzz around the ground and a real belief that they could win – this they did. The team really then dominated their last two matches and on the last day of the season they had to play Horley with both sides needing a win to clinch the title. We scored a mammoth 168, the highest score that I can remember a Newdigate team achieving, which effectively put the game out of Horley’s reach. There were some excellent performances all round and skipper Andy Kehl topped both the bowling and batting statistics. For the first time we entered the prestigious Surrey County Cup. Over 120 teams from throughout the county entered. First round we beat Dorking and in the next rounds both Merstham and Reigate Priory could not raise teams. We then beat Epsom and in the semi-final we travelled to Guildford to play them at Woodbridge Road. We scored 111 and with Guildford on 55-5 we were in an excellent position to secure victory, but two strong batsmen then knocked off the runs. All in all this was a superb season, the boys conducted themselves in a manner that was at all times a credit to the club, and now we watch with interest as they develop into the senior sides.

Girls Under 11s and Under 13s

The girls are coached by Nigel Spreadbury, Paul Griffiths and John Callcut. We have had a large influx of players as a result of the Chance to Shine Scheme and the Surrey Youth Games. Girls are invited to come to Tuesday evening training sessions and they can either join the club and take part in matches and competitions or just have nine free sessions and participate in the Surrey Youth Games – most, we are pleased to say, stay on after their free sessions. Newdigate represented Mole Valley in the Surrey Youth Games at the Sports Park at Guildford on a very threatening day in June. We lost the first game to Guildford who showed excellent skills, particularly running well between the wickets, but then won the next three. As this was a very young side we will be able to field almost an identical team next year. In May the girls played Kwik Cricket at the Oval during the break in a women’s county match.

We participated in the Surrey Girls Club Competitions at u11 and u13 levels at various venues around the county. Without exception we improved after every match and came very close to winning at Spencer CC. Here are the under 11 girls at Horsley & Send and the under 13 girls at Spencer. Congratulations to Evie Spreadbury who has represented Surrey at under 13 level.

In August we took a group of girls to Lords to see the England vs Australia one day match. They even appeared on television!

Schools’ Cricket

Under the Chance to Shine Scheme, I presented six weekly courses to five Dorking primary schools, namely St. Pauls, North Downs, St Josephs, St. Martins and the Weald. In addition Nigel Spreadbury and myself conducted a course at the Priory School in Dorking. We sold the school our Flicx wicket and also an internal mat which had been donated to us by a villager. When these courses had finished I coached Years 1 and 2 at Newdigate Infants School as part of the schools curriculum. There is not a single child who attends our village school who has not been introduced to cricket.

We staged the Dorking Schools Kwik Cricket Competition for boys and girls on two separate days. The winners, the Weald (boys) and St. Pauls (girls) then played in the County finals at Epsom College.

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I was asked to select a school to participate in the OCS Schools Day at the Oval. The matches are eight a side and the teams consist of four boys and four girls – with the boys bowling to the boys and the girls bowling to the girls. I selected St. Martins who not only took part in the Chance to Shine scheme with enthusiasm but also have a thriving after school boys club. They had a wonderful day and thoroughly enjoyed their day at the Oval.

John Callcut

The end of the season finished with the traditional coaches versus the colts match. As always it was well contested but the coaches ran out worthy winners by 32 runs. We held the 2012 presentation in July, but this year we changed the format and held the 2013 presentation and barbecue after the coaches and colts match. This seemed to work very well as the attendance was good.