Havant youngsters bidding for Hampshire Under-17 Cup success

Havant CC’s youngsters bid for county cup success tomorrow.
Darryn Stares has played for Havant's 1st XI this summer aged just 15. Picture Ian HargreavesDarryn Stares has played for Havant's 1st XI this summer aged just 15. Picture Ian Hargreaves
Darryn Stares has played for Havant's 1st XI this summer aged just 15. Picture Ian Hargreaves

The club’s under-17s are taking on Hook & Newnham Basics at Basingstoke’s May’s Bounty ground in the final of the Hampshire Kerry Cup (2pm).

Captained by Ollie Perkins and managed by 1st XI batsman Pete Hopson, Havant are aiming to lift the silverware for the first time.

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This is only the second season of the Kerry Cup – a 20-overs a side tournament - and in 2019 they were beaten in the semi-finals.

Alfie Taw in action for Havant against Bournemouth in the Southern Premier League in 2019. Picture: Vernon NashAlfie Taw in action for Havant against Bournemouth in the Southern Premier League in 2019. Picture: Vernon Nash
Alfie Taw in action for Havant against Bournemouth in the Southern Premier League in 2019. Picture: Vernon Nash

Havant director of cricket Jeremy Bulled - the club’s long-serving wicket-keeper - said: ‘We’ve got a strong junior set-up at the club.

‘Last year when we lost in the semis all the players were under-16, and we were saying how much we were looking forward to this year.

‘Obviously the pandemic came about and it looked for a while as if the team wouldn’t get to play their last season of colts cricket.

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‘If someone like me misses a season it’s not the end of the world, but if those lads had missed this year it would have been pretty sad.

Action from Havant's SPL T20 Cup win over Sparsholt (complete with a spectacularly garish shirt!) last weekend. Pic: Bob Selley.Action from Havant's SPL T20 Cup win over Sparsholt (complete with a spectacularly garish shirt!) last weekend. Pic: Bob Selley.
Action from Havant's SPL T20 Cup win over Sparsholt (complete with a spectacularly garish shirt!) last weekend. Pic: Bob Selley.

‘Thankfully it’s worked out well for them.’

Two members of the under-17s have been appearing for Havant in the club’s Southern Premier League Premier/Division 1 East cup group matches.

They are Charlie Whitfield and 15-year-old seamer Daryn Stares, who is in his first season at Havant.

Bulled said the plan is now to give Perkins some 1st XI experience in Havant’s remaining three SPL cup games against Rowledge, the Hampshire Academy and Sarisbury.

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‘The pandemic has given us the chance to blood a few youngsters who otherwise might not have got an opportunity,’ he explained.

‘It is pretty rare for a 15-year-old to be playing at our first team level, apart from if a club has nothing to play for in August.’

Havant, like most clubs in the SPL, have been playing without an overseas signing in 2020 - they had lined up South African Bash Walters for this summer before the pandemic struck.

In addition, batsman Stuart Ransley has decided to sit out the truncated season which only began in late July following the easing of lockdown restrictions around the grassroots game.

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In addition to Whitfield and Stares, two more members of the Kerry Cup final team - Freddie Gadd and Alfie Taw - have been 1st XI squad members since last summer.

Gadd and Whitfield have also played for Hampshire’s under-18s this summer, while 13-year-old Matt Hayward - who will also face Hook today - is another who has played for the county at junior level.

Havant have won through three rounds to get to the final.

Perkins hit 67 off 53 balls as Havant totalled 164-7 en route to a 12-run win against Hambledon in their first game - Whitfield hitting an unbeaten 31.

Taw (30 not out) and Whitfield (22 not out) took Havant to a six-wicket success against Alton in the quarter-final.

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Perkins, opening the batting, then thumped a quick 40 after last four opponents Fair Oak had been restricted to 92-7 off their 20 overs.

James Watterson has starred for Hook in their run to the final.

In the quarter final he top scored with 57 in a one-run victory over Sway, and he followed that up with an unbeaten 68 in the semi-final triumph over Parley.

Should tomorrow’s final be rained off, it could take place next Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

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At 1st XI level, Havant have won their last two SPL East cup ties - against Sparsholt and Burridge - and are also through to the quarter finals of the SPL T20 Cup.

They reached the last eight courtesy of an eight-wicket caning of Sparsholt last Sunday - the team including Whitfield, Gadd, Taw and Stares.

‘For the first time this year it actually felt like a cricket season last weekend,’ said Bulled.

‘It had been stop-start up to then - we had a bye on the first weekend of league cup games and we’ve also had two games rained off.

‘We’re making steady progress.’

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