Ryan Kilmister produced a “brilliant performance” with bat and ball as Dumbleton pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win against Biddestone on Saturday.

On the face of it, bowling figures of 0 for 29 from 10 overs and a score of two not out don’t necessarily jump out at you, but in the context of the game they were pretty decisive interventions.

He tied up one end with his left-arm spin when Biddestone were threatening to rack up a good score and then, batting at number 11, hit the winning runs to claim a dramatic Premier Two Glos/Wilts win in the West of England League.

Throw in the fact that Ryan, who was making his Premier Two debut, is only 14 and you can see why player/head coach Wade Risdale was so pleased with his display.

“He bowled on a deck that most of the bowlers were struggling on,” said Risdale. “He came on and shored up one end. He bowled incredibly well, very tightly.

“He was playing against batsmen twice his age and twice as big as him who could hit the ball 10 times farther than he can. It was a brilliant performance.”

Ryan linked up with Dumbleton a couple of years ago and he has certainly made rapid progress in that time.

He is a member of Gloucestershire’s under-14 squad and Risdale added: “He’s a very good cricketer, he impressed us straight away.

“He’s got a very, very good temperament, is very accurate and spins the ball quite a lot.

“He’s got a really good repeatable action and gets good revolutions on the ball.”

And what about his batting?

“When he went out to bat we still needed nine to win,” said Risdale. “He was batting with number 10 so it was all against him. But he looked incredibly cool. He didn’t look bothered or fazed and he hit the winning runs with an elegant on-drive although he did admit afterwards that his back leg was shaking!”

Ryan, a pupil at Chipping Campden School, made his debut for the 1st XI in the final game of last season when Dumbleton had already won the Gloucestershire Division title.

“That was a taster match and he did really well,” said Risdale, “but he will be in and out of the side this season. It’s all about giving him the right experience.”

And the one thing young Ryan won’t be short of is family support because mum Michelle is captain of the club’s ladies’ team while dad Martin plays in the men’s 3rd XI.

Biddestone 200 (48, Wade Risdale 3-29, Ed Bragg 3-42), Dumbleton 201-9 (49, Risdale 44, Rupert Salmon 43, Bragg 39).