Gloucestershire’s young county cricketers celebrated a successful 2018 season at their annual presentation evening at the Brightside Ground, Bristol.

Gloucestershire head of talent pathway Tim Hancock handed out individual awards to 23 different players including Newent all-rounder Chloe Skelton who scooped both the Under 17 Girls’ player of the year and performance of the year.

Hancock said: “Looking back, the summer of 2018 stands out for two main reasons. Firstly, the fantastic weather which enabled so much cricket to be played and secondly it proved to be another really positive year for our age groups.

“Across the board Gloucestershire sides are not only competing with the best counties around but we are now regularly winning tournaments and seeing our best young players receive wider recognition.”

The successes stories of 2018 included the Under 10 Boys recording a perfect season with an unprecedented 14 wins from 14 matches and the Under 13 Girls enjoying their most successful season.

The Under 13 boys won their Taunton Festival, an achievement that was matched by the Under 14 boys who also became the first Gloucestershire side to finish top of their ECB Group.

There were also a number of individual achievements to celebrate including Hamdi Saleem (Downend) and Will Naish (Frocester) impressing for the South West at the prestigious Bunbury Festival.

Matt Brewer (Bristol) and Gloucestershire Under 17 team-mates Ollie Price and Ben Charlesworth were selected for the ECB Super 4 competition with Charlesworth also representing England Under 19 and making his First Class debut for Gloucestershire’s 1st XI.

Gloucestershire girls also enjoyed similar recognition with Under 17 all-rounder Danielle Gibson (Dumbleton) representing Western Storm and being part of the England Women’s Academy.

Frenchay wicketkeeper Nat Wraith was part of the Western Storm Regional Development Squad and both girls played in the ECB’s School Games teams.

Another example of the growing strength of Gloucestershire’s junior girls’ teams was that 11 age group players made their senior Gloucestershire Women’s debuts in 2018 including Under 15s Bea Ellis (Charlton Kings), Isabel Carey (Cam) and Cerys King (Corse and Staunton).


The main part of the presentation evening saw a review of the season for each age group followed by individual awards being handed out.

Notable winners included Dumbleton pair Will Gilderson and Tommy Boorman.

Fast bowler Gilderson was named Under 14 Player of the Year after finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the ECB national competition – including a best of 7-44 v Hampshire.

Boorman took the Player of the Year prize for the Under 13s for a stellar season that saw him score 613 runs at an average of 87 with five 50s and a 100.

Newent’s Chloe Skelton was the only player to win two awards on the night. Her 4-12 and 75 not out against Cornwall saw her pick up the Performance trophy. And she was also named Player of the Year for an excellent year where she scored four 50s and held the team together on numerous occasions.

One other household had two trophies heading its way after Zaman Shafi was named Under 11 Player of the Year and his older brother Cyrus won the Under 17 Bowling Performance prize.


Gloucestershire 2018 Award Winners

U10 Boys
Performance of the Year: Joseph Armitage (Bedminster)
Player of the Year: Logan Bowden (Thornbury)

U11 Girls
Performance of the Year: Ellie Donaldson (Frenchay)
Player of the Year: Jen Rivers (Bradley Stoke)

U11 Boys
Performance of the Year: Henry Trotman (Winterbourne
Player of the Year: Zaman Shafi (Bristol YMCA)

U12 Boys
Performance of the Year: Ethan Corbett (Dumbleton)
Player of the Year: Ottie Landale (Cirencester)


U13 Girls
Performance of the Year: Greer Barnes (Old Bristolians Westbury)
Player of the Year: Isobel Patel (Frenchay)

U13 Boys
Performance of the Year: Ben French (Frocester)
Player of the Year: Tommy Boorman (Dumbleton)


U14 Boys
Performance of the Year: Charlie Brennan (Bristol)
Player of the Year: Will Gilderson (Dumbleton)

U15 Girls
Performance of the Year: Isabel Carey (Frenchay)
Player of the Year: Cerys King (Corse and Staunton)

U15 Boys
Performance of the Year: Freddie Merrett (Lechlade)
Player of the Year: Michael Burger (Chepstow)


U17 Boys Development
Batting Performance of the Year: Ludo Rhys-Williams (Cirencester)
Bowling Performance of the Year: Cyrus Shafi (Bristol YMCA)

U17 Girls
Performance of the Year and Player of the Year: Chloe Skelton (Newent)

U17 Boys
Performance of the Year: Max Tryfonos (Bedminster)
Player of the Year: Ollie Price (Great and Little Tew)

Pen pix on the award winners

U10 Boys

Performance of the Year: Joseph Armitage (Bedminster)
Joe was the leading wicket-taker for the season with 20 wickets at an average of 8.9 apiece despite being a year young in this age group. The performance of the year came in a 20-20 game at the Malvern Festival against Tower Hamlets where he took 5 wickets for 6 runs in just 23 balls – with all his wickets clean bowled.

Player of the Year: Logan Bowden (Thornbury)
Coach Jon Tegg said: “Logan is a consistent performer who has the ability to take on the toughest of opponents and succeed. He maintains a high standard in everything that he does and has a fierce competitive nature, while always upholding the spirit of the game.” He scored a total of 325 runs at an average of 40.63.

U11 Girls

Performance of the Year: Ellie Donaldson (Frenchay)
Combining confident running with consistently putting bad balls away, she made an outstanding 35 not out at better than a run a ball against Herefordshire before having to retire.

Player of the Year: Jen Rivers (Bradley Stoke)
Coach Pete Lamb said: “Jen led from the front all season, captaining a side for the first time and dealing superbly with the pressure this brings. Her understanding of knowing which bowlers to use when, setting clever fields and leading pre-game team talks all at the age of 10 was impressive to behold. She was also one of the team’s most reliable wicket-takers with 8 in just in 4 games.”

U11 Boys

Performance of the Year: Henry Trotman (Winterbourne
For top-scoring with 55 and then bring himself back into the attack and taking 4-20 to help his side beat Gwent when the game looked to be slipping away.

Player of the Year: Zaman Shafi (Bristol YMCA)
Coach Richard Trotman said: “Throughout the season Zaman showed a maturity with bat in hand which was well beyond his years. He is technically gifted, polite and nobody in the squad works harder. He scored 295 runs and impressed the coaches not just with how many runs he made but how he got them and who he got them against.”

U12 Boys

Performance of the Year: Ethan Corbett (Dumbleton)
The opening bowler took 5-17 to blow away Hampshire at the Taunton Festival.

Player of the Year: Ottie Landale (Cirencester)
Coach Gareth Dawson said: “Ottie’s positive attitude was reflected in his performances both with the bat and behind the stumps. He made three fifties during the season, all scored in a positive manner with attacking stroke play and aggressive running between the wickets. His wicketkeeping improved with every game and he showed himself to be an excellent team player.”


U13 Girls

Performance of the Year: Greer Barnes (Old Bristolians Westbury)
For her 5-18 against Somerset that included a hat-trick and 4 wickets clean bowled.

Player of the Year: Isobel Patel (Frenchay)
Coach Nick Tidball said: “Isobel was an inspiration to her team with her dedication, commitment and immense enthusiasm. Her tactical knowledge and batting skills have developed significantly during the past 12 months which resulted in a number of outstanding performances including 5-4 and 59 not out v Devon and 67 not out v Leinster.”

U13 Boys

Performance of the Year: Ben French (Frocester)
For his determined, attacking score of 60 v Oxfordshire that helped his side to a 2-wicket win.

Player of the Year: Tommy Boorman (Dumbleton)
The opening batsman scored 613 runs at an average of 87 with five 50s and a 100 in his 11 innings.


U14 Boys

Performance of the Year: Charlie Brennan (Bristol)
Coming in at 70-6 against local rivals Somerset, Charlie scored 93 from 73 balls – including 11 fours and four sixes – to turn the game on its head and set up an excellent win.

Player of the Year: Will Gilderson (Dumbleton)
Will finished as the highest wicket-taker in the country in the ECB Under 14 Cup with 19 wickets at an average of 10.95. He took 25 wickets in total with a remarkable 80 per cent of his dismissals bowled.

U15 Girls

Performance of the Year: Isabel Carey (Frenchay)
For her match-winning 77 against Somerset.

Player of the Year: Cerys King (Corse and Staunton)
Under 15 manager John Harris said: “Cerys performed consistently throughout the year with the highlight being her 6 for 9 against Somerset. She also captained the side well and contributed useful runs.”

U15 Boys

Performance of the Year: Freddie Merrett (Lechlade)
For a dogged and determined captain’s innings of 55 not out v Northumberland to help his side chase down their target of 148.

Player of the Year: Michael Burger (Chepstow)
Manager Chris Germaine said: “Michael is one of the quietest in the squad but stands tall among his peers. A batsman with effortless timing, he performed magnificently during the season, scoring more than 450 runs including a best of 109 not out v Glamorgan.”


U17 Boys Development

Batting Performance of the Year: Ludo Rhys-Williams (Cirencester)
For his 121 v Berkshire from 97 balls including 16 fours and 2 sixes

Bowling Performance of the Year: Cyrus Shafi (Bristol YMCA)
For his 4 for 36 v Warwickshire which included 3 wickets in an over to change the game and help take his side to victory.



U17 Girls

Performance of the Year and Player of the Year: Chloe Skelton (Newent)
For an excellent season where she scored four 50s and held the team together on numerous occasions. Her best performance was 4-12 and 75 not out v Cornwall.


U17 Boys

Performance of the Year: Max Tryfonos (Bedminster)
Max scored 462 runs at an average of 66. The highlight was his clinical 142 in the final three-day game against Worcestershire.

Player of the Year: Ollie Price (Great and Little Tew)
Ollie was the top wicket-taker nationally in the A division with 28 wickets at 20 and also scored a very healthy 440 runs at 55 opening the batting. He was also captain of the team.