CORNWALL YOUTH FESTIVAL 2004

8th to 13th August

Festival youngsters soggy but smiling

Organisers looking to expand in 2005 Carrick area clubs fared well in the 18th Cornwall Youth Cricket Festival, held in Penryn. Far west club Paul, resplendent in their two-colour blue uniforms, won the exciting Under 17 'Cricket Max' event and shared the Under 11 Final, whilst the eastern half of the county was unusually well represented on the honours board. Newquay, Looe, St Austell, St Erme and Grampound Road all featured in the final stages. Matches again took place on four grounds, including two 'Flicx' pitches laid at Penryn Sports College. All of the main finals were held at St Gluvias Cricket Club, which is itself undergoing an upsurge in fortunes after several years in the doldrums. The weather had a much greater than desired influence on the week, with most days either slightly or seriously affected by rain. Consequently, the organisers were sorely tested with much rescheduling required. However, past experience proved invaluable as difficulties were overcome with a smile and a shrug, a situation much helped by the excellent cooperation of most of the competing teams and their managers.

A feature of the week was the tremendous sportsmanship shown in the later stages of the Under 15 event and the graciousness with which sides accepted defeat in the knockout stages. Although odd individuals might have blotted the collective copybook, the overall attitude displayed by the young players and their coaches was most heartening to those running the Festival. The cricket was also rather low-scoring, but no less competitive and tense as the bowlers had a good week, ably supported by fielders making light of the wet ball and outfields. In the Under 15 event Falmouth and Grampound Road, the two strongest sides on the day, met in a repeat of their earlier encounter, which the village side had won with just two deliveries to spare. However, their batting was ripped apart in the Final and they struggled to just 77 all out. Falmouth romped home without losing a wicket and thus made up for the disappointment of the previous year.

Two very low-scoring semi-finals in the Under 13 competition resulted in rather a 'local derby' of a Final, with St Austell completing a comfortable victory over Looe. Sunday's Under 11 softball competition was postponed due to heavy rain and played a week later, when Paul and Newquay were forced to share the title after another untimely downpour made conditions impossible. Thirteen of the original entry of 18 teams eventually took part. The Festival Committee have already announced that the 2005 Festival will run from SUNDAY 7th to FRIDAY 12th AUGUST. They are also looking for a major sponsor for the event, which they hope to see expand rapidly in the next few seasons, as much publicity is to take place in order to attract a number of teams from other parts of the country. The Committee sees this as a priority in boosting the development of the Cornish cricketers by arousing interest and encouraging them to compete against stiffer opposition.

Full results Under 11 (14 teams) : Plate - St Erme beat Redruth Semi-finals - Newquay beat St Austell Paul beat Falmouth Final - Abandoned (rain). Paul and Newquay shared the trophy.

Under 13 (15 teams) : Plate - West Dulwich 85-6, Grampound Road 60-5 Semi-finals - St Erme 45 (J Libby 5-13), Looe 48-6 St Just 36 (C Wallbank 4-6), St Austell 40-2 Final - St Austell 118-4, Looe 84-8 Player of the Final - J Libby (Looe) Best Batting Performance - J Preston (Grampound Road) 60* Best Bowling Performance - Jack Vosper (Penzance) 5-0

Under 15 (9 teams) : Final Eliminator - Falmouth 150-4, St Just 73-9 Final - Grampound Road 77, Falmouth 81-0 (Falmouth won by 10 wickets) Player of the Final - Antony Angove (Falmouth) Best Batting Performance - Antony Angove (Falmouth) 78* Best Bowling Performance - Antony Angove (Falmouth) 5-1

Under 17 (8 teams) : Semi-finals - Gorran 51-4, Paul 52-0 Falmouth 71-3, Grampound Road 73-4 Final - Paul 82-5, Grampound Road 67-5 (Paul won by 15 runs) Player of the Final - Cas James (Paul)

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