Cricket Espana U15 Junior Tournament – 8v8 / 8 Over Competition. September 1st-3rd
With the success of the Junior soft ball tournament held in Mallorca in June last year, Cricket Espana and the different regions in Spain decided the next event should return to the mainland. With a number of grounds across Spain in contention to host, the final choice was made that Andalucia would be the venue for the junior competition at the relatively new ground and home to the Granada Cricket Club in Vega del Genil.
Owner of the Goval (Granada Oval) Ritchie Abbott said “This weekend Granada welcomes junior cricketers from across the country for the 2nd edition of the Cricket España under 15 Junior tournament. Four teams will battle it out over three days to see who will be crowned National champions”
The teams that Abbott referred to will be representing the regions of Madrid, Andalucia (2) and the Balearic Islands. The 8 a side tournament will see young cricketers aged 8-15 take the field to play out a 4 team round robin on Day 1 with the 3rd and 4th places to play out for 3rd place on Sunday with the top 2 teams in a second playoff final to decide who will become the U15 champions of Spain for 2023.
As many of the players have progressed from last year, while others are still relatively new to the game, the tournament will be played using a newly launched junior ball by Grizzly Bear Sports named the ‘Hybrid’. The ball was developed at the request of coaches based in Spain to help take players from beginner level and build confidence in readiness for matches with a standard cricket ball. Early tests during coaching sessions have proven the ball performs similarly to a junior cricket ball without the same element of risk on impact.
The tournament will feature players wearing full cricket kit when batting, with helmets, pads, gloves and wooden bats all supplied by our friends at Grizzly Bear Sports. For some this will be a new experience but is all part of their progression.
With the new equipment, team competition and tournament environment complete with match officials, it will all act as valuable development for all the participants from playing together while enjoying some coaching sessions between games.
We fully expect to witness the developing talent and perhaps even a few new players that Spain has to offer where we can encourage the progression towards the national set up in the coming months.
One of the particiapting players is Gyan Kirby, who was part of the Vatican entourage that played undefeated games in Spain recently. Gyan who is based in Rome was invited by the tournament organiser Jay Wild after he found out about the limited opportunities for Gyan to play currently in Italy. The youngster is very excited to participate, and on his arrival in Granada he said “It’s great to be here in Spain playing cricket. I’m looking forward to playing in a team together”
Cricket España would like to thank all the sponsors of the event, including Cricket España, European Cricket Network and Grizzly Sports” A special mention also goes to Granada CC for a substantial discount on ground fees, and to the Ayuntamiento de Genel for agreeing to sponsor the trophies and medals”
Spectators are welcome and admission is free all days.
Teams
Costa Del Sol – Thomas Ness (captain) Stanley Green Leon Whelan Jack Hasslacher Will Curtis Joel Lazenby Emilia Williams Ted Ryder
Iberian All Stars Joel Munez-Jones Lopez (captain) Teo Moreno-Manzanaro Rex Ryder Gyan Kirby Leah Woolf Ruben Sutton Jack McConnell Max Rodriguez Guell
Madrid Hamish Jiwani (captain)Daniel Garey Subhan Saab Pablo Jones Salmerón Finn Devereux Jeet Griego Obazon Maria Zamorano Molina Julia Zamorano Molina
Mallorca Jack Harwood Jones Freddie Harwood Jones Riley Vickers Otis Van Rhede van der Kloot Sandro Spickernell Edward Molloy Matthew Scott Sam Scott Tommy Whitworth
Jay Wild/Cricket España
