Cricket Espana U15 Junior Tournament held at the Granada Oval – September 1st-3rd 2023.
A great few days of cricket was had at the home of Granada Cricket Club, ‘the GOval’ in Vegas de Genil in Granada over the weekend, with 33 Cricket Espana juniors taking part in an eight-match tournament of eight overs of 8-a-side.
After an afternoon of warm up sessions and ‘getting to know you’ time between the players, it was straight into the action come day 2 with all 4 teams taking the field in a round robin format where each team took at least one victory into the playoff rounds.
Despite the very murky weather overhead for most of Saturday afternoon, all six round robin games were completed. The Costa del Sol Juniors and Mallorca Meerkats won two of their three games which meant they would play out their fourth game as the two finalists on Sunday.
With Madrid CC and the Iberian All Star made up of players from 3 regions, finishing with one win each, it meant they would meet in a 3rd/4th place playoff.
Due to the forecast for Sunday morning, the decision was taken by the organisers to play the 3rd/4th place fixture at the end of Saturdays round of games.
After a long day, both sets of players were certainly passed their competitive best, but the discipline and team spirit within the Madrid camp proved a big factor in seeing the game through as they ended strong winners despite having been beaten by the All Stars earlier in the day… Credit to both teams for their effort with players from the Spanish capital featuring in both sides.
Many players grew in confidence during the tournament, but it was the Mallorca Meerkats that showed a good team spirit on and off the field can be decisive. Come the final match their determination and support of one another certainly contributed to their performance, taking six Costa del Sol wickets during their innings in the field, proving that taking catches and keeping a disciplined stump to stump line when bowling can have a big impact.
With a target well within the average for the tournament, the Meerkats completed the challenge chasing down the total and defending it for the required 8 overs, beating the much improved CDS Juniors to be crowned the Cricket Espana 2023 – U15 Junior Champions.
There were many positives to take from the weekend and the format applied by pairing of players with a ‘like for like’ scaling of ability within the teams certainly meant the games remained competitive throughout the innings with some impressive Bat Vs Ball match ups…
The scoring system of runs awarded for taking wickets meant both teams were always in the game until the last ball with nearly all games finishing within 10 runs of each other, which maintained player focus and the nerves of a few adult onlookers right up until the last ball.
The whole contest was well fought between all the teams but it was pleasing to see players spending time together off the field as well as on it and while all matches were competitive the games were played in good spirit which was the real winner of the tournament.
Big thanks has to go to all those who supported the event –
Cricket Espana for their commitment and guidance on making to tournament the success it was.
European Cricket for their continued support of the game in Spain and across Europe, especially with junior players.
Grizzly Bear Sports who’s assistance in providing kit and equipment to Spain has played a big part in the development of the game. Their attention to detail meant they even designed and supplied a new Hybrid ball in order to make this tournament as safe and challenging as possible for all the abilities of player taking part.
Huge credit to the owner of the ground, Richie Abbott and his team of volunteers and club members who were on hand all weekend to make this a special few days for these youngsters, and we look forward to returning to our hosts in the future…
The local town hall were also present at the end for the awards ceremony to hand out the various prizes to all players that took part, adding to what was a special occasion for all the participants, parents and team representatives involved.
JAY WILD
Award Winners
- Tournament Winners – Mallorca Meerkats
- Best Player – Riley Vickers – Mallorca Meerkats
- Best Batter – Thomas Ness – Costa del Sol Juniors
- Best Bowler – Teo Moreno-Manzanaro – Iberian All stars (Madrid CC)
- Best Fielder – Maria Zamorano Molina – Madrid CC
