BYCL news reports

BYCL County Cup
Finchampstead beat Wokingham in final of the U15s County Cup at Falkland CC and await the Middlesex champions in the next round.

Maidenhead & Bray U13s County Champions beat South Wiltshire as they made further progress in ECB national U13 competition.

Maidenhead and Bray will carry the hopes of Berkshire in the ECB Spirit of Cricket under-13 club championship.

They booked their place in the first round by defeating Falkland by five wickets in the Berkshire final played at Boyne Hill last Friday.

The Wash Common side were dismised for 74 with Callum Johnson making 33 and Alistair Unwins 11 not out.

Adam Barrett took 2-9 off three overs, while Sachin Moudgil's one over saw him capture two wickets at a cost of 14 runs.

Maidenhead looked in trouble when Brandon Gilmore clean bowled the first two batsmen with only eight runs on the board. However, Brett Herron with 33 and Alex Hess (16) put Maidenhead on their way to victory with four overs to spare. Jamie O'Dell remained unbeaten on 10.

Gilmore was the pick of the Falkland bowlers with figures of 4-0-9-2 and only a dropped catch denied him another wicket.

Maidenhead will have home advantage when they take on the Wiltshire champions next Sunday. Their opponents will be South Wilts or Marlborough, who are due to play this Wednesday.

Sheila Porter, chairman of the Michael Shanley-sponsored Berkshire Youth Cricket League, said: "We wish Maidenhead all the best next Sunday. They played well in what was a very good final last Friday."

This under-13 championship involving 40 counties, has really established itself in the past 30 years. It can be a stepping stone to international stardom as previous competitors include England stars Andrew Flintoff, Monty Panesar and James Anderson.

"I think that shows the importance of the competition on the path from the playground to the Test Arena," said ECB chairman Giles Clarke.