KINGSHOLM (main image) and Cirencester were crowned champions after a memorable finals day of T20 Development action.
In blazing hot conditions at Cirencester CC, Kingsholm overcame Carsons & Mangotsfield by 13 runs in a tight semi-final before trumping Knowle by 63 runs in the final to secure the Vitality U19 T20 Development in Association with Stuart Turner shield.
And on an adjacent pitch, Cirencester defeated Carsons & Mangotsfield by 47 runs in the semi-finals ahead of completing a 74-run victory in the final over Bradley Stoke to win the Marsh Commercial U16 T20 Development shield.
The two finals rounded off a day of non-stop thrills and spills, bringing to a close a hugely successful season of development action.
The U19 competition got underway with Knowle defeating Poulton (97-9) by eight wickets in the first semi-final, Mate Oriyakhel retiring on 50 and Mate Abed hitting 31.
Kingsholm were then dismissed for 104 in the second semi, Will Thatcher taking 3-12 for Carsons & Mangotsfieldwho in reply were bowled out for 91, Matt Walker capturing 3-21.
Kingsholm carried that momentum into the final, reaching 146-5 thanks to fine knocks from Hamza Shazad (53 retired) and Luke Bond (41).
Ben Jones top scored on 43 in Knowle’s reply of 83, Seb Pascoe the pick of the attack with figures of 4-15.
The U16 competition, meanwhile, began with a 47-run victory for Cirencester over Carsons & Mangotsfield, Ottie Landale starring with 55 (retired) and seamer Will Bassett taking 3-10 from three.
Hatherley & Reddings were dismissed for 72 in the second semi-final, Sam Hunter and Joe Young taking three wickets apiece for Bradley Stoke who eased in by ten wickets thanks to Harry Eccott (35) and Ben Rivers (23).
Harry Brownless (50 retired) and Aden Vaughan (33) dominated Ciren’s total of 139-6 in the final with Will Bassett (5-8 from four) and captain Louis Sabbagh-Holt (3-13 from four) then taking charge with the ball to close out the victory.
The presentations were made by GCB chairman Andy Shield who said: “We congratulate all the teams that made it through to the finals and who contributed to such a memorable day.
“We are extremely thankful to Cirencester for being such wonderful hosts, and would also like to thank all the umpires and scorers who played such important roles, as well as our sponsors for all their support.”
The U19 batting award went to Hamza Shazad with Kingsholm team-mate Seb Pascoe winning the bowling honours while the fielding trophy went to Knowle’s Mate Abed for a fine catch on the boundary.
Harry Brownless received the U16 batting award with Cirencester team-mate Will Bassett taking the bowling trophy. The fielding award was presented to Bradley Stoke’s Sai Patel who held an extremely difficult diving catch.