Harold Wood under 12s won Essex Cricket’s Brian Taylor Trophy in a brilliant final and will represent the county in the national competition in 2022.
The final took place at the picturesque Great and Little Warley Cricket Club, with Harold Wood meeting Oakfield Parkonians.
Parks won the toss and elected to bat - Aditya Singh and Christian Edinburgh started well with the ball, and Singh claimed an early wicket.
A run out helped the cause and Parks were 28-2. That was soon 33 for 4 when Azlan Kumar and Hrthick Gosain also picked up a wicket apiece.
Wood were faced with a huge hurdle to overcome as Shahariyar Chaudhry was batting superbly whilst his teammates continued to struggle.
Bowlers with Wood continued to chip away at their opponents, with Arya Shah (2-24) and Aayush Baluja (1-15 from 5) bowling well, while Gosain also got a late wicket to finish with 2-29.
Parks were 119-9 but a late onslaught from Chaudhry meant they got their score up to 142 with him not out on 78 - extras the next top score with 20. Parks had the momentum going into tea.
Wood’s reply got off to a positive start and the score was on 19 before they lost their first wicket, with man of the match of the semi-final win Abhinav Murugesh not able to replicate his half-century heroics as he was bowled for 10.
Dangerous players Baluja, Sharuja Singh, Kumar and Aditya Singh came and went and at the halfway stage Wood’s reply was wobbling at 71 for 5.
Arnav Lanka was joined at the crease by Ali Shah and for the next 10 overs they took the attack to Parks.
His 66 off 66 balls included eight fours, and was remarkably his first half-century.
When he was finally dismissed, Wood needed just two runs to win. Shah’s 16 not out should also not be forgotten as he was there to scamper the winning runs with two and a half overs to spare.
The team celebrated with their proud parents. It was the end of a fantastic season for the under 12s, the whole squad having played a part in the triumph.
The squad even raised the shirt of teammate Zareb Rizvi who missed the final due to illness.
Full team: Abhinav Murugesh, Aayush Baluja (Captain), Arnav Lanka, Shaurya Singh, Azlan Kumar, Aditya Singh, Ali Shah, Hrithik Gosain, Arya Shah, Rohan Guruswamy, Christian Edinburgh
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