Unfortunately this has not been an easy year for the U12. They have struggled with the demands of batting against strong bowling sides and consequently scores have been consistently low. The players will need to master the forward defensive if they want to improve into next season. I hope some winter nets will bring some improvement.

However there were some encouraging signs. The team was very well led by Matthew Barnes who never let his side’s poor performances affect his captaincy. The fielding was also excellent with hardly any catches dropped all season. The out-fielding was impressive and should put the team at an advantage in future years. The batting was based around Greg Cooper’s stoic defence and slightly laid-back approach with occasional significant innings from Matthew Barnes and Charles “Andy Flintoff” Holroyd. The bowling was reasonable but was not penetrating enough to bowl sides out. The main wicket-takers were Joshua Mellor and James Holroyd.

There was a solitary victory against Thomas Coram and an encouraging draw against a strong Enfield Grammar at the end of the season. Too many games however were significant defeats with a rather unmemorable thrashing from St Albans.

Thank you to Mr Webb and Mr Gibson for their assistance with the team.

Team: Matthew Barnes, Gregory Cooper, Christopher Debonnaire, Charles Holroyd, James Holroyd, Matthew McGrory, Joshua Mellor, Simon Minter, Christopher Moore, Alexander Rattan, Edward Roberts, Samuel Spencer, Edward Whately-Smith.

TH Savill