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U12s – Coached by Iain “Biggles” Jeffries and Brian Jeffries; captain Reece Collins-Powell

W9 D1 L5. (2008: W8 D1 L7) League Position: 5^th (out of 9) (2008: 5^th out of 12). The team finished the season strongly after performing better than all our other colts sides in the SJCF. The 12s, in the previous year, had reached the final and the boys this year were just one game away from repeating the feat when their hopes foundered in a last game defeat at Lindfield. (Lindfield also did for the 10s & 16s in their leagues…). Having said all this, the 12s this year won a higher percentage of games to last year so again improvements continue to be made by the younger generation. The Identilam League was a mix – up one week and down the next but excellent notable wins came at home to Three Bridges and against Wisborough Green where they became the first Green and Gold side to ever beat Wis. Top batsmen were:

Gabriel Peck - 212 runs from 13 innings with 2 not outs. High score 60; average of 19.27

Wesley Scott - 191 runs from 9 innings with 2 not outs. High score of 35; average of 27.29

Gabriel Peck had a great season culminating in a sixty at old rivals Pulborough in the SJCF. He also played in the majority of Under 14s games and a 2^nd XI fixture against Belgrave Adelaide. Wes Scott also had a fine summer playing many Under 14s games and a Sunday fixture against Beeding & Bramber. RCP captained the side well too. Bowling was as follows:

Gabriel Peck - 61.4 overs, 12 maidens, 23 wickets at an average of 8.57. Economy of 3.19

Again all rounder Gabriel tops the list by a mile taking 23 wickets at an average of 8.57. Will Jeffries also had a remarkable cricket week where he took an amazing 5 wickets for 1 run against Pulborough with his googlies! All in all, things are looking good for 2010.

W8 D3 L6. (2008: W1 L7 playing in an IDL Under 14s league). WACA Shield: Winners out of 5 (2008: Unknown) Identilam League: 3^rd out of 5. (2008: Did Not Enter). A season of tremendous highs and disappointing lows. Some players again performed well in patches, some didn’t progress for whatever reason and the ground fielding remains a concern for the coaches. Many of the 13s also played for the depleted 14s this year.

Let’s start with the positives though. This team was responsible for two of the real success stories of the season. Firstly the 13s cleaned up the West Area Cricket Shield comfortably. Our only real challengers were Goring who were again dispatched as in previous years at the Rec at the end of June. Even our old nemesis, Eastergate, was beaten for the first time easily. Secondly, Rydon Community College which consisted mainly of WC&T boys in the Under 13s (and a couple from the Under 12s) beat several schools to win the West Sussex Schools cricket cup for the first time ever. Ben Hasler captained this side too and was honoured by the Headmaster at the end of term. Jamie Curtis, Guy McKilligin (ex WC&T and now at Pulborough), Toby Glover & Gabriel Peck all contributed handsomely and especially in the landmark victory over private school Sion in the Final at Lancing College.

The Identilam League however was a different story after the team capitulated badly at home to Wisborough Green and also lost the away game despite posting a challenging total. They lost to Roffey in the gloom in a game they could have won but ironically the most exciting game (which they also lost) was at old rivals Horsham Trinity which went to the last ball. This was surely one of the games of the season for all sides at the Club – Trinity actually retained their SJCF trophy later in the year - but highlights like this were too few this season.

The festival was also extremely disappointing from which the tone was set in a first game defeat at Arundel. We bowled well enough against the hosts and restricted them thanks to Cian Brittle's five-for. However despite a typical fighting 46 from Ollie Tavares, we capitulated and finished just short. This almost mirrored the 14s win at home to the same club the week before. Despite some big performances – notably a further big Tavares knock of 75 at Goring - two defeats and two draws were certainly not what were expected after last year’s heroics.

Let’s hope for a change in fortune next year. There's still too much faith on a couple of players and if they fail, the team folds. Leading batsmen were:

Ollie Tavares - 279 runs from 14 innings. High score of 75 and an average of 27.9

Ben Hasler - 274 runs from 14 innings. High score of 49* and an average of 30.44

Ben Hasler - 59.2 overs, 9 maidens, 16 wickets at 11.63. Economy rate of 3.14

Special mention also for the now departed Cian Brittle (who left and then came back again for the festival) taking 5-24 in the SJCF defeat at Arundel.

Ollie Tavares and Toby Glover were accepted into the 2010 Northern Knights squads.

What do you think? Are there any moments which you feel need highlighting? The coaches had their say at the Junior Dinner but if you want to send us a comment about your team, please click on “Contact Us” and send us your memories/thoughts!