The indoor season at The Cricket Asylum is now coming to a close with several juniors from Prestwich CC having been involved in the recent Winter Bash.
Oli Staley played in the Northern Star Saints team (pictured) that won the u11s competition – beating Todmorden in the final. The Saints remained unbeaten throughout the competition.
The Northern Star Sixers (with u12s Sami Khan, Kasra Taklimi and Tom Allen in their ranks) were beaten semi finalists in the u13s competition. They were beaten by a team made up exclusively of Lancashire u13s players and acquitted themselves very well.
The Prestwich Pacers (playing in the u13s comp as an u12s team) found the step up to be a big one but still managed to win a couple of games whilst being knocked out in the group stage. The experience will prove invaluable as they move up a standard this coming outdoor season.
In the u16s competition, The Spitfires and Superkings, disappointingly, failed to progress past the quarter finals. Ellis Compton, Ariz Sajid and Sam Regan turned out for the Spitfires whilst Sam Staley, Charlie Jackson, Tom Hatchett and Ben Pinkus all played for the Superkings.
On the representative front, Oli Staley and Sami Khan have represented The Cricket Asylum in regional and national events in Derby and Birmingham. If the u12s team, playing in Derby, win their last 2 fixtures they stand a great chance of winning Division 1 – they are currently running neck and neck with The Derby Sixers – a team composed entirely of Derbyshire County Cricketers.
Ariz Sajid has improved rapidly as the winter season has progressed and has played for the u14s in Derby. Sam Staley has captained the team that has finished runners up on 2 occasions in the u15s National Championships whilst also turning out for the u16s in Derby Division 1.
There has also been news on the preliminary squads for the upcoming Junior World Series.
A total of 11 boys who play in the Cricket Asylum indoor leagues have been included in the preliminary squads announced for the 13 and under, 15 and under, and 17 under age groups.
In the 17s and Under age group, The Cricket Asylum (TCA) are represented by Ollie Henderson, Issac Thompson and Jacob Stephens.
In the 15s and Under age group Charlie Palmer, Kodi Sutcliffe, Eddie Dickinson and Sam Staley have made the cut.
Ed Wackrill, Ben Clarke, Solomon Wood and Freddie Long are included in the 13s and Under squad.
They join indoor cricketers from across the UK in making these squads. It’s a huge honour for TCA to have so many players from their leagues gaining recognition on the national stage. The boys are competing for places in the final squads with lads playing regularly at full ‘tension net’ centres as opposed to the ‘hybrid’ centre used by TCA.
Bury is well represented in the squads by players from Greenmount (3) and Prestwich (1). The GMCL also have 2 squad members in Sam Staley and Rupert Hallows. For followers on instagram, Jackson Bentley – AKA The Cricket Kid – has also made the initial squad in the 13s and Under age group.
Competition for places will intensify over the next 6 weeks when, after further trials and national tournaments, the preliminary squads will be cut back to a final 16.
Final squads will be announced at the end of March. These 16 player squads will be made up of the 12 who will travel to Dubai plus 4 non travelling reserves. Over the summer they will take part in approximately 60 hours of England Indoor Cricket Academy sessions in preparation for the tournament. As indoor cricket is completely unfunded by the ECB the selected lads (and their parents) will have to get their fundraising hats on to raise the 3k per player needed to make the trip.
It has been confirmed the Junior World Series will place at the UPro centre in Dubai from September 29th until October 7th this year. With entries from Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the UAE, the tournament is already looking strong.
