The Twelfth Man 2014

! 19 during!the!coming!season.!! The!Brian!Johnston!Award!Winner:! Charlie!Baker! *********************! Darren!Crossland’s!Net!–!Eric!Sykes! Award! The!runner!up!is!a!lad!who!started!playing!cricket,! I!believe,!two!years!ago!but!seems!to!have!picked! things!up!very!quickly.!!His!batting!is!coming!along! and!he!is!working!hard!to!make!these! improvements.!!He!is!not!frightened!of!trying!to!hit! the!ball!but!needs!to!work!on!his!feet!movement! and!keeping!his!head!still.!However,!he!has! impressed!me!with!his!development!of!his! bowling.!!If!he!continues!to!listen!and!bowl!a!good! line!and!length!with!a! little!away!swing!then! the!rewards!will!come! this!year.!!My!advice! would!be!that!he! needs!not!to!bowl!too! fast!all!the!time!but!to! bowl!within!himself! with!the!odd!quicker! ball!slipped!in!each! over.!!If!he!were!also! to!get!closer!to!the! stumps!when!he! bowls!then!slight! away!swing!will!become!difficult!for!the!batsman! to!hit!and!I!am!sure!he!will!pick!wickets!up! regularly.!!He!has!worked!hard!on!his!approach! and!follow!through.!!He!needs!to!work!hard!on! making!sure!that!he!keeps!his!action!upright!and! his!bowling!arm!high.! I!look!forward!to!seeing!this!lad!again!next!year! and!working!with!him!again!and!the!best!of!luck! for!the!coming!season.! Runner8Up:!Oliver!Depledge! The!winner!of!this!award!is!a!cricketer!that!really! does!have!the!potential!to!achieve!and!I!have!no! doubt!that!this!young!lad!could!go!far!in!the!game.!! I!will!watch!with!interest!to!see!how!he!goes!on!in! the!coming!years.!!He!is!a!very!gifted!cricketer!that! has!excellent!batting!technique!who!has!a!good! array!of!shots!in!his!armour.!!In!fact!in!the!time!I! have!been!coaching!I!have!possibly!seen!the!best! technical!shot!played!by!a!young!lad!this!year!for! quite!some!time.!!It!was!a!very!graceful!off!drive! that!was!stroked!and!hit!perfectly.!!He!plays!very! straight!and!can!play!either!side!of!the!wicket.!He! has!a!lovely!leg!spin!bowling!action!and!can!turn! the!bowl!consistently.!!He!does!need!to!practice,! work!hard!on!his!stock!ball!and!go!on!to!develop! from!there,!adding!more!variation!to!his!bowling.!! This!I!am!sure!will!come!with!time!and!effort.!!He! is!a!very!good!listener!who!takes!on!board!all! comments!made!to!him!and!just!quietly!adds!these! points!to!his!games!and!makes!improvements.!!He! needs!to!continue!with!this!approach!of!listening! and!working!hard!because!practice!and!hardwork! is!the!key!to!success.! Congratulations!and!good!luck!with!his!cricket!this! year.! The!Eric!Sykes!Award!Winner:! !Jake!Hardcastle! ********************! Brian!Marsh’s!Net!–! John!Arlott!Award! I!noticed!that!the!lads! from!last!year!had!gone! and!that!I!now!had!6!lads! from!net!3.!Although!I! had!seen!some!of!them! over!the!years,!it!was!the! first!opportunity!I!had! had!to!get!a!good!look!at! them!close!up.!Having! two!leg!spinners!in!the!group!and!five!seam!up,! one!of!whom!left!arm,!all!of!them!willing!to!learn! and!improve.! As!far!as!batting!was!concerned,!the!usual!things! such!as!bottom!hand!in!front!foot!shots,!when!to! play!and!when!to!leave!and!foot!movement!were! apparent.!But!all!in!all!they!were!a!good!group!and! with!hard!work!over!the!next!couple!of!years,!they! will!all!be!good!cricketers.! My!choice!for!the!runner!up!award!is!a!lad!who!is! no!stranger!to!WCLS!awards.!He!is!a!pleasant! young!man!who!has!a!cricket!brain!and!tries!his! best!to!learn!and!improve.!A!medium!pace!bowler! who!bowls!a!good!line!and!length,!mixing!the!line! with!swing.!As!a!batsman!he!has!an!excellent! defence!combined!with!all!the!shots,!but!at!the! moment!lacks!a!little!power!which!will!come!as!he! gets!bigger.!This!is!certainly!one!to!watch!for!the! future.!