NORTH
SOMERSET YOUTH CRICKET LEAGUE
The aim of the League shall be to
promote, encourage and develop youth cricket.
REPORT 2012
This was the League’s 48th consecutive year of operation for
clubs located in the North West part of Somerset and indeed further afield. At
the end of the worst summer for rain during all that period, 2 events stood
out: First Brian Rose, this League’s longstanding president, stood down as the
SCB’s Director of Cricket, having overseen the most successful playing period
for Somerset CCC in its history. Second, Peter Trego, the most successful
product of the NSYCL’s youth structure, was named county cricket’s Most
Valuable Player for the 2012 season. Congratulations
to both on their achievements!
Meanwhile, the League plugged on through unrelenting rain, 45% of the 359
fixtures being cancelled or abandoned.
Summer rain is, unfortunately, our constant fellow-traveller, but this
year it had more than its money’s worth.
The size of our League is such that, though U11s are limited to the 12
successive weeks from end April to end July (before family holidays intervene)
and U17 fixtures are fitted in as best they can be through the summer, at the
most popular levels (U15 and U13) games have to be played every week from
mid-April through to mid-August. It was
not just many of the early fixtures that needed to be decided on the toss of a
coin. As the long-awaited dry weather
never came, coin-tossing became an alternative competitive sport.
Since league games were moved some years ago to a “points on the day”
format, with no scope for postponing and rearranging fixtures, cancellations (though
disappointing) enabled all League competitions to keep moving forward to
completion, without paralysis.
Fortunately, in Cup and Plate fixtures, where postponement for weather
and rearrangement is still allowed, all rounds dodged the weather and all
competitions got to a cup final with a winner.
In the U17s League, Nailsea
claimed top spot from last year’s champions Cheddar. There was a bunch in mid-table including
Winscombe, Cleeve and WSM, with Temple Cloud & Barrow Gurney bringing up
the rear. The U17s Cup was won by Cheddar over Uphill and in the Plate Cleeve shot out WSM for 68 (C
Hance 4-8 and R Hunter 4-12) to win that popular competition.
At U15s level, the 16 teams
were (as has been the approach in recent years) split first into 2 geographical
sections. In the Trescothick (North)
Section, Bristol led with Nailsea 2 points adrift, but in the following 10-team
play-off Section Nailsea managed to reverse positions to finish champions. Winscombe and WSM Wizards had topped their
South Section but in the play-offs had to be content with 3rd &
4th spots. Cheddar won the U15s
Cup in damp (naturally) conditions at Claverham, while Bristol (Abrams 63,
Probert 51) beat Blagdon to the U15s
Plate.
At U13 level last year’s winners Bristol tied with Cleeve
at the top of the Caddick (North) geographical Section, while Wrington led the
Parsons (South) Section from Clevedon with Uphill Castle a close 3rd. The top 4 from each Section carried their
points forward to the play-offs, where Bristol emerged champions ahead of
Cleeve. Bristol then did the double, winning the Cup against Cleeve in a repeat of the 2011 final, shooting out
Cleeve for 32 with James Dunn 4-3 taking a hat-trick. Banwell & Churchill beat Claverham in
another low-scoring game to win the Plate.
18 teams competed at U11 level,
including new entrants Blagdon, Backwell, Flax Bourton and WSM “C” (U10s). Enthusiasm is unbounded at this age, amongst
both players and managers. Only 3 points
separated the top 7 teams, with Winford eventually claiming their first NSYCL
League title from runners-up WSM Wizards by a single point, ahead of Clevedon 3rd. There is no Cup competition at U11 level so the programme is constituted by
League fixtures over 12 straight weeks.
Across all levels, centurions in 2012 were J Luff (WSM), J Butcher, R
Riddicks (Nailsea), H Thomson (Bristol) and T Rowland (Bristol), with C Scott (Bristol)
(twice), B Hussey (Blagdon) and J Luff (WSM) taking 5 or more wickets in a game
for single figures. Highest team total
was Bristol’s 198-2 v Whitchurch at U15s.
The NSYCL continued to seek, and where possible play, representative fixtures against other
local Leagues, this year setting up matches both home and away with the Bristol
& District Youth Cricket League though our new Representative Teams Officer,
the enthusiastic Jo Pinkney (Nailsea). Only 2 of the games, though, could be played
owing to weather, with NSYCL U11s winning their match held at Congresbury, and
NSYCL U13s losing a tight game in the closing stages at Twyford House.
Thanks are due to member Clubs who made their grounds available to host
Cup and Plate finals, as well as Representative matches, particularly with this
year alternative dates having had to be requested because of
postponements.
John Waters’ (Nailsea) work for Youth Cricket through the
NSYCL, taking responsibility for time-consuming matters such as cup finals,
trophies and representative games, was critical, as was Mark Walker’s (Failand & Portbury) operation of the online
results website, now so familiar as to be part of the scenery. Our Chairman Stuart Dewer, (Congresbury) continued his guiding involvement,
including representing the League in presentation of trophies at finals.
The continued sponsorship of the League’s handbook by Westcountry Ground Care of Axbridge
(Rod Cooper), and the voluntary attendance of umpires supplied by the Bristol & Weston Counties Umpires
Association were also critical to operations, as well, once again, as the scorers, parents, groundspeople and others
making it all happen.
To try again with what I said this time last year: “Let’s look forward to a blazing summer next time!”
Robert Humphreys
League Secretary
North Somerset Youth Cricket League (NSYCL) 1st
November 2012