Bishop’s Stortford Cricket Club under-14 boys produce brilliant run chase to beat Shenley Village and be crowned Hertfordshire champions

Bishop’s Stortford’s under-14 boys produced a brilliant run chase to beat Shenley Village and be crowned champions of Hertfordshire.

The team, who had lost at the semi-final stage three years in a row, triumphed at Harpenden as their hard work and dedication paid off.

The squad included seven youngsters from The Bishop’s Stortford High School, three from Bishop’s Stortford College, two who attend Hockerill Anglo-European College and one from Haileybury.

The day began with a semi-final against Letchworth. After winning the toss, they restricted their opponents to 103 from their allotted 20 overs.

Ed Warren, Harry Frans, Ethan Hill, Sam Braund and Luca Livermore were the pick of the bowlers.

Stortford needed just 12.2 overs to reach their target thanks to Lewis Greenhill (36no) and Ciaran Wilson (34), with support from Will Hodges (13) and Braund (9no).

Shenley Village looked to be on course for a 160-plus total in the final, but fabulous death bowling from Livermore and Warren ensured they faced a more manageable target of 146.

Stortford then excelled with the bat to triumph in style, with opener Hodges (40no ret) and Wilson (45no ret) both ending their knocks with two massive sixes.

Braund and Olly Sturrock then put on an unbeaten 39 stand as their side crossed the finish line with 17 balls to spare.

Alex Burnet did a good job as 12th man while the players were thrilled to win for injured team-mate Charlie Waugh.