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Junior success in Bavaria
Patrick Henderson
The Swiss U13 team successfully defended the Bavaria Cup in Munich over the weekend of 8/9 March. The Swiss played and won all eight games against stiff competition from two Munich sides plus Austrian, Slovakian and Czech Republic national squads.
Three Zurich (Joe Boucher, Ross Cameron and Leo Massey), two Geneva (Jamie Hadden and Jed Poole) and two Basle (Rory Adams and Theodor Hall) boys combined well in a squad of seven playing in this six-a-side indoor competition. All the players had to bat two overs and bowl one over per match so an all-round ability was required.
Sensible strategies along with solid batting, bowling and fielding were the key ingredients to the success. All the boys played a major contribution across the matches.
Final standings Bowling pts Batting pts Win pts Total pts Runs Wickets
1 Switzerland 10 12 64 86 560 38
2 Austria Reds 8 11 48 67 532 33
3 Munich Lions 5 10 40 55 517 20
4 Munich Jags 2 6 24 32 355 13
5 Slovakia 5 0 8 13 126 23
6 Czech Rep 3 1 8 12 229 17
The Swiss Under 11 team, made up of players from Zurich (Tom Ascroft, Michael Ernst, Alex Favotto, Simon Henderson and Anthony Palmiero), Cossonay (Jai Sinh) and Basle (Arthur Beard and Neil Creba-Wright), had been put together after an Under 11 selection tournament in January. It proved to live up to the selectors’ expectations. We played eight matches, winning seven and losing one.
Final standings Bowling pts Batting pts Win pts Total pts Runs Wickets
1 Switzerland 10 8 56 74 453 40
2 Munich Tigers 10 11 48 69 497 39
3 Austria Reds 9 7 48 64 385 37
4 Austria Whites 5 1 16 22 133 20
5 Munich Panthers 3 2 16 21 170 15
6 Slovakia 5 1 8 14 119 22
Tom and Alex opened our batting and were the most prolific run scorers with 145 runs during the tournament. They took the pressure off the rest of the team, played intelligently and ran well between the wickets. They also contributed significantly with their bowling. Nobody was ever going to score many off these two and Alex even took the top individual bowling performance of the tournament snatching an extraordinary five wickets in one over!
Anthony, the youngest member of the team, invariably opened the bowling. He is exceptionally consistent, has pace and did a first class job in taking eight wickets. Jai was Anthony’s batting partner and as our middle-order batsmen they solidly scored the runs we required of them. Jai’s two wickets in the final against Austria Reds, which included a stunning caught-and-bowled, meant that Austria’s middle order failed to score.
Arthur was our leg-spin bowler. The flight and turn he gets on the ball completely baffled the opposition and there were less runs scored off his bowling than anyone else in the team. He was virtually unplayable and we look forward to him wreaking havoc again in other tournaments this year. Arthur’s batting partner was Neil and the two of them steadfastly kept the scorecard ticking over in the middle order.
In their last match they opened and top-scored with some clever batting and quick running. Neil bowled wonderfully reliably throughout the tournament and was unlucky not to have taken more wickets.
Wicketkeeper Michael contributed an inspirational all-round performance. As a bowler he also took 5 wickets, while as wicketkeeper he hung on to a couple of remarkable catches and as a batsman, together with Simon, he hit his way to 141 runs. Simon led his team by example, deservedly taking 9 wickets with his speed and accuracy, showing presence and agility in the field, and finally batting intelligently under pressure in the final to seal the match and lift the trophy.
It was certainly a great result and one that we deserved with such an all-round talented team. Everyone pulled their weight with individuals making significant contributions in each of the matches.
It was a valuable learning process, and it was invigorating to see the boys so wholly engaged in trying to do their best at every opportunity. The boys learned and improved hugely during the tournament. To come back and beat a team in the final that had comprehensively beaten them the day before spoke volumes about their fight and willingness to improve. In total we took 40 wickets, the highest number of the tournament, and scored 453 runs!
Congratulations to the whole team and many thanks to all the accompanying families for their unflagging and voluble support. Many thanks also to the organizers for the smooth running of the tournament and the excellent and plentiful food and drinks.
© Swiss Cricket Association
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