Under-12s/13s season wrap: Fresh faces emerge and returning stars shine

Members of the Orange CYMS Cricket Club under-12s/13s Green and Gold teams after their match at Max Stewart Park in February.

Improvement was the name of the game for Orange CYMS Cricket Club's two under-12/13s teams in the 2024-25 Orange District Junior Cricket Association season.

The teams, Green and Gold, were largely comprised of players new to the club and to cricket.

While this led to more losses than victories, there were positive signs that future seasons will produce plenty of wins.

Green - the younger of the two teams - won five games across the season, narrowly missing the finals to finish fifth of the competition's nine teams. Gold won two games to run eighth.

Orange CYMS President Ben McNiven congratulated both teams on their progress and noted that 13 of the two teams' 23 players had been playing cricket for less than two seasons.

"It is a great credit to these boys that they have worked so hard to improve their skills across the season when so many of them are new to our sport," McNiven said.

"The spirit and sportsmanship displayed by both teams will hold them in good stead in the seasons to come, when I am sure they will record many more wins.

"Most importantly, the players enjoyed their cricket and their teams, and played with the right spirit. We are very proud of them."

There were some great individual performers among the CYMS teams.

Henry Chiarella was ninth among the competition's run scorers, racking up 122 runs for the Green team. He was also ninth in the wicket-takers' list, snaring 10 scalps, the same number as the Gold team's left-armer Jack Flitcroft.

McNiven said that the club was especially grateful to the wonderful group of coaches, assistants, managers and other volunteers who helped the teams across the season.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have such a dedicated and selfless group of people developing these players and teams, both with the cricket skills and their conduct," McNiven said.

"The progress of the boys speaks for itself in terms of how well coached and managed the teams were but it is the enjoyment and sportsmanship of the teams that really stand out.

"Special thanks to Ben Chiarella, Dave Neil, Kym Flitcroft and others who helped for all of the time and effort across the season as coaches."

The teams were as follows:

Green: Ollie Arndell, Hugo Bugden, Ed Brown, Tom Brown, James Hazelton, Harry Fardell, Henry Chiarella, Sam Rinaldo, Finn Baker, Angus Hattersley, Toby Harrison. Coach: Ben Chiarella.

Gold: Flynn May, Ali Hassan Baig, Anishvar Heyshankaran, Finn Duffy, Finn Dempsey, Helika Senanayake, Logan Benson, Jiwan Sekhon, Lincoln Seymour-Burgess, Jack Flitcroft, Paddy Penberthy-Neil, Sam Cox. Coach: Dave Neil. Manager: Kym Flitcroft.