Under 18s win ECB County Cup
Somerset Under 18 Boys are the new ECB County Cup holders after they beat Yorkshire by two wickets in the final that was played at Kibworth CC in Leicestershire on Monday.
After Somerset captain Oscar Coleman won the toss and asked Yorkshire to bat, opening bowler Tom Watson struck in the fifth over to make it 20 for one and followed up with a second with the total on 44.
A third wicket partnership of 81 took Yorkshire onto 125 before Watson returned to claim his third wicket in the 21st over.
Mo Kaleem and Harvey Richards claimed a wicket each, but with the score approaching 200 Yorkshire threatened to post a sizeable total.
However, Coleman and Kaleem had other ideas and between them they reduced Yorkshire from 192 for five in the 40th over to 223 all out in the 44th.
Kaleem ended with three for 34 off eight overs, Coleman claimed three for 49 off 8.2 while Watson took three for 25 off eight.
The Somerset response got off to the worst possible start and they found themselves 27 for five in the sixth over, before the Harvey Coleman joined his older brother Oscar.
Over the course of the next 10 overs the Colemans stemmed the fall of wickets and started to build an innings, adding 61 together before Harvey was out for 12 which made Somerset 88 for six in the 17th.
With the total on 92, Oscar was out for 42 which he scored off 38 deliveries with eight fours, which brought Jack Blackwell to join Nick Watson in the middle with Somerset still needing 132 for victory with three wickets remaining.
Between them, the pair took control of the situation and set about the task sensibly seeing up the 100, then the 150 and 200 before Watson was out for a patient 46 which he scored off 57 balls and which included six fours.
Watson’s eighth wicket partnership with Blackwell added 188 runs in 17.2 overs and took Somerset to the brink of what at one time had seemed a highly unlikely victory.
Tom Watson then came out to the middle and supported Blackwell as the pair steered Somerset to 224 without further loss in 36.3 overs, and victory by two wickets much to the delight of everyone who made the trip from the west to support the team.
Blackwell ended unbeaten on 66 which he scored off 59 balls and which included five fours and three sixes.
