UNDER 9s NEWS                                                                                                    16-09-11

JUNIOR PRESENTATION NIGHTS The club is to split the 2011 Prize Presentation into two nights to ensure everyone can get in comfortably! The first night will be Friday 23rd September for under-9s & under-11s. The following Friday 30th September is for under-13, under-15 and under-17 players, Both nights will start at 7:45 prompt.
Winners Oaks magnificent under-9s duly claimed the Gordon Bowers Cup at Undercliffe. Batting first our boys posted a typically solid 258-2 and a spirited reply from Bradford & Bingley was contained at 235-10. Oakworth are the first team from UAJCA to enter the competition and have won the Trophy only 24 hours after the club's First and Second Xls confirmed their Championships The boys are Harry Hollingsworth (Capt), Bradley Powell (wk), Corey Green, Subhaan Ahmed, Matty Corkindale, Chester Williams, Lucas Keslinke & Joel Oxford, Oliver Bishop was reserve. more soon.................
Junior Presentation Night Oakworth CC committee have decided that this year to help accommodate everyone with more comfort, the Presentation Night will be split by age groups as follows: Fri Sept 23rd : under 9 & under 11 players Fri Sept 30th : under 13, under 15 & under 17 The night will commence at 7:30pm so be there for 7:0pm to get a seat.
Oaks reach Bower Cup Final Steve & Neil's magnificent eight under-9s team have reached the Final of the Gordon Bowers Cup at the first time of asking. The Final, at Undercliffe CC, is to be held on Sunday 4th September (10:00am). After a clean sweep of matches in their group, Oaks young stars saw off Pudsey St Lawrence in the quarter-finals and then evicted Buttershaw St Pauls in the semi-finals last Sunday. Opponents in the Final will be Bradford & Bingley, who were beaten twice by Oaks in the group stage. The eight-man team will probably be selected from: Harry Hollingsworth (Capt), Corey Green, Bradley Powell (w-k), Matthew Corkindale, Chester Williams, Oliver Bishop, Jake Best, Owen West, Subhaan Ahmed, Lewis Brown & Joel Oxford. Good luck boys and bring home the Cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Six wins out of six vs top Bradford League opposition is an unbelievable out-turn for our terrific under-9s team. Bradford & Bingley, Baildon and Saltaire all failed to trouble our fine bunch of  young cricketers. Harry Hollingsworth and the lads are sweeping all before them. We now await the next round draw to see how far we have to travel.. Come on you mini-Sharks!! [pictures courtesy of Neil Bishop]	The squad of lads that have done so well are Harry Hollingsworth, Corey Green, Matthew Corkindale, Bradley Powell, Chester Williams, Josh Tonner, Marcus Thornton, Lucas Keslinke, Henry Bailey, Paige Scarborough, Joel Oxford, Jamie Coffey. In addition to progress in the Bowers Cup the squad finished runners-up in recent 2011 Malsis Festival. They lost to Skipton in the Final having beaten them at Group stage. Well done lads.

Two wins from two matches have raised expectations that Oaks youngsters can progress in the county wide Bowers Cup competition.  Firstly Oaks saw off Bradford & Bingley with some style with 244-3 in response to the B & B 216-10.

The second match aws even ,more convincing with Baildon scoring just 23 from the bat and 14 extras. Thier five wickets lost reduced the Baildon score to 212-5. Oaks had just the one wicket loss and a massive 67 runs scored (59 from the bat) and a 267-1 score-line. Captain Harry Hollingsworth stroked 25 with 3 boundaries and Matt Corkindale chipped in 11 with 10 from pint-sized Bradley Powell.

Gordon Bower Cup

Under-9s from Oakworth will compete in the county-wide Gordon Bower Cup in 2011. Initially Oakworth are grouped with Bradford & Bingley, Baildon and Saltaire. Each will play each other at home and away with the top two going forward to a knock-out stage. The group stage matches have to be concluded by 26th July. Manager Steve Powell will keep parents aware of agreed dates.

UAJCA ROADSHOW AT OAKWORTH

The events are open to youngsters under age 13, irrespective of whether they have played cricket before. Each Road-show will be themed as either direct hit, sweep for six, the Dilshan & reverse sweep, skiers, slower ball, the Yorker etc, with a competition to be held at the end of each Road-show based on the themed skill for the night. It will be 'Direct Hit' at Haworth.  Road-shows will be promoted through the Schools Sports Partnerships and local Media. Remember Road-Shows will be entirely FREE to youngsters with no cost to Clubs. The Friday evenings will be fun-based cricket-skills learning sessions of 2 hours duration (6:30-8:30pm) led by Level 3 Coaches, supported by host clubs' coaches. AND YOU CAN GO TO AS MANY AS YOU WISH

u 9s enter additional competition

Under 9s Manager Steve Powell has applied for entry to the Gordon Bowers County-wide competition.  Our developing team will still contest the UAJCL Summer Tournament and the Malsis Cup, making a pretty full schedule for 2011. This year will be the 30^th of the Gordon Bowers 8-a-side Cricket Competition and the fourth where it has been organised at the Under 9 Age Group. The Competition disregards geographical boundaries or League the Clubs play in.  All are welcome to join and has Representatives from such as the Bradford. Junior, Halifax, Central Yorkshire, Dales Council Leagues. 

BRIEF PLAYING DETAILS

Clubs are divided into Groups of 4 Teams arranged as much geographically as possible. There are no fixed dates (Apart from the Final) and Clubs in each Group arrange their Fixtures between themselves. In the Group stage  all Clubs should play 6 matches. Playing details etc. are sent out in around the 2^nd week in April. The Group games are requested to be completed by the end of the 3^rd week in July and then the top two Clubs in each Group go into an open Cup Draw and this is on a Knock-out basis with the Final being towards the end of August.

2010 Club Presentation Night

The 2010 Junior Presentation Night took place earlier than usual on Friday 17th September with another tremendous turn out for the event at the club house. The under 9s season as always had proved a learning experience for players and managers alike. Lee and Steve did a grand job as the boys and girl won three of their nine matches, against Settle, Bradley and Skipton.

The three under 9 awards for 2010 were announced as follows:

Team Managers Lee Spragg and Steve Powell spoke affectionately about their enjoyment of the year and that the players also seemed to have a lot of fun. There had been once again praise for the tremendous help from parents and supporters throughout the short season. All the players received a medal for their participation throughout the year. The ones who stood out and claimed the Prizes were Corey Green who was the top batsman whilst Matthew Corkindale was a deserved winner of the bowling award and the first ever fielding prize was picked up by Bradley Powell.

ON THE WAY UP

Oakworth's still very young under-9s squad is on the way up the league. The 2010 summer tournament has seen Oaks youngest side move up to 7th place in the table (8th in 2008). Many of the players have hugely improved their performances under the tutelage of Steve Powell and Lee Spragg. The batting looks much better with runs coming in increasing amounts for Harry Hollingsworth, Corey Green, Bradley Powell, Tom Daniel and Matty Corkindale. The same five all are also prominent at bowling. With lots of newcomers this season the future is very bright since most are younger than 8.

The Presentation Night is et for Friday 17th September and we shall see who has gained the prizes.

MALSIS double

Oakworth under-9s to enter 2 teams in Malsis Festival. 27th June is the date and Oakworth under-9s will be out in force with parents grandparents and supporters galore. Managers Steve Powell and Lee Spragg will manage the two teams on the hard surfaced pitch on UAJCL's Big Cricket Picnic.

2009 Club Presentation Night

Once again The Annual Junior Presentation Night took place as scheduled on Friday 2nd October at the club house. The under 9s season had proved an exhilarating experience, losing the first five matches but ending on a real high note with three wins!

Looking forward to 2010 the under 9s team will be managed by John Hollingsworth, Steve Powell and Lee Spragg. 

The two under 9 awards for 2009 were announced as follows:

Team Manager John Hollingsworth referred to the excitement of completing virtually all the fixtures and praised the tremendous help from parents and supporters throughout the short season. There were two boys who stood out and Kieron Blakeley proved the top batsman whilst Joel Fothergill claimed the bowling award after finishing the campaign in style.

Later, the highlight of the evening was as always the award of the SA Labels Cup for the best performance of the year. A difficult coaches verdict was that James Lee's Under 15 Cup Semi-Final 27 and 2 wickets vs Upper Wharfedale was the most deserving match-winning performance in a major event.

Pro Coach Academy comes to OAKWORTH

UAJCL is hosting a fabulous Summer Twenty-20 Cricket skills 3-day Training course for all UAJCL club junior players. Age range 6-16.

And it's going to be held here at Oakworth over 3 days, 17th to 19th August (10:00 till 15:00). All coaches will be professional Yorkshire County Cricket Club First XI players.

The cost is £75 per child.

To book places, which are limited to only 25, either go to www.procricketcoachingacademy.com

and find the course under 'Yorkshire'

or phone 01133-200444  

SO BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

Under-9s outdoor practice will commence on Wednesday 15th April at the ground. Please see 'Coaching News' for times.

Our very young under-9 squad of 21 players are a year older but we still will be one of the youngest teams in the 2009 Tournament. Joel Fothergill is expected to lead the team on its improvement curve. The official coachingmats fixtures start on 15th July (vs Bradley) but the managers hope to organise a number of pre-tournament 'friendlies' during the regular season.

The Annual Junior Presentation Night took place as scheduled on Friday 19th September at the club house. Two changes to team management for 2009 were announced in that Michael Davison will manage the under 15s and Simon Howell the under 13s . It is also a possibility that the club may enter two teams in the under 17s league in 2009.

The two under 9 awards for 2008 were announced as follows:

Team Manager Jeff Hobson referred to the delight, amusement and fun enjoyed by the players, their parents and club officials. The under-9s team is certainly entertaining. In a year of a squad of 22 it was nevertheless difficult to get teams together in August and only 4 matches were played.

The lads who shone in those matches were Joel Fothergill with the bat and Macauley Smith with the cherry.

The highlight of the evening was as always the award of the SA Labels Cup for the best performance of the year. A difficult coaches verdict was that Jack Davison's Under 13 Cup Final 56 vs Earby was a stupendous match-winning performance in a major event.

Our youngest side ever to take the field went into action a Steeton on 20th July and performed with great enjoyment. The average age was 6.1 years, the youngest Bradley Powell at just turned five!! The match was of course lost as the youngsters got their first taste of cricket. There were lots of memories for the large crowd of watching parents to savour. A pulled boundary from Joel Fothergill and

Want to watch the fabulous cricket at Oakworth AND earn some dosh? Oaks are looking for regular First, Second and Third Team scorers for 2008. The pay is £10 per match and a free tea!! Contact any of the committee for more details.

Sadly the extended Malsis Festival on 22nd June will not feature Oaks under 9s this year. With 8 clubs entered and only 5 places, three clubs would miss out. The draw did not favour Oaks.

Jeff Hobson is to take charge of the Under nines team for 2008. Once again the tournament will be staged during July/August, the first match being on Sunday morning 27th July away at Steeton. Matches as in previous years will be on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, please see fixtures for more details.

Two prizes were to be given for our second under-9s team which again finished second in the under 9s UAJC League August tournament for 2007.

The top batsman prize was won by Captain Jordan Powell, calling on all his experience in the under-11s to stack up 35 runs. And Jack McGrogan was the best bowler in a wonderful second season.

Young Oakworth player Ben Howell has become the youngest recorded player to play for an Oakworth Senior XI. He was drafted into Oaks Second XI Cowling Cup team at Foulridge lls on Sunday 2nd July. The Oaks u-11 cricketer was born on 7th June 1997; so his appearance came at the tender age of 9 years and 25 days. The previous record had stood since 20th July 1991 when Mark Beckett made his debut against Skipton CI lls at an age of 9 years and 121 days.

Ben is pictured above left with the Barritt-Stephenson Cup for u-11s won by Oakworth u-11s at Denholme on Sunday 2nd July, on the morning of the very same day Ben made his Second XI debut in the afternoon !!

Under   9s The Dobson & Robinson Shield