Yorkshire Under 19s heading for Honley Cricket Club to take on Lancashire

Make a note in your diary to be at Honley Cricket Club on August 26 and 27.

That’s when the Yorkshire Under 19s take on Lancashire in a two-day fixture which is part of the new Six Counties Under 19 Championship.

While it’s the final match of the competition, some of the best young players in the north of England will be involved and there’s the extra incentive of it being the Under 19 Roses Match and the winners take home the Sanderson Cup.

This new Championship is well worth keeping going, especially with the inter-league White Rose Competition for Under 21s now being long gone, but they do need backing and have put out an appeal for sponsorship.

Junior official Ian Livesey from Flockton explained: “It is some years since the ECB withdrew the Under 19 National Championship and several counties, including Yorkshire, were dismayed by this decision as we felt the gap between Under 17 cricket and Second X1 cricket was too big, even for the most talented cricketers.

“Some of the larger counties, including Yorkshire with Lancashire, Middlesex and Warwickshire formed an unofficial Championship.

“Initially the games were played on a percentage, but this has since evolved with everyone playing everyone else and the original four are now six, with Durham entering in 2014 and Derbyshire joining this year – to form the Six Counties Under 19 Championship.”

Livesey feels it’s a vital stage for young players.

“The demands made on the players in a two-day game are different.

“Batsmen, even in the lower order, have to be able to concentrate and bat for long periods.

“Similar concentration is needed in the field – most cricketers will have fielded up to three hours in a typical club match, but to field at a high level for twice the time is very testing.

“The bowlers may also be asked to bowl a third spell with the new ball late in the day, and it is a measure of their resilience if they still bowl effectively.”

Anyone who would like to help can make out a cheque to YCB and send it to Ian Livesey, 212 Barnsley Road, Flockton, Wakefield.