New Academy Faces

As I suggested last week, the new Academy intake has been announced. There were some exciting young players in contention for Academy places this year and the intake announcement backs up that statement quite conclusively. So let's look at the new boys in a little more detail.

Rob Hemmings
Rob is a talented batsman from Audley CC in the Staffordshire league and in 2012 reached a thousand runs for the third successive summer. There was a breakthrough century for him, which was promptly followed by three more. One to watch.

Callum Brodrick
At just 14, Callum made the Dunstall senior side in the second half of the season. His Dad Steve has been a key member of the side for years, but hopes are high that Brodrick junior could go much further in the game, as a spinner of considerable talent who knows how to handle a bat.

Rahib Ali
Rahib has played his cricket at Rolls Royce for the past few summers and at 17 is a batsman of some ability. He has a wide range of strokes and could develop into a very good middle order batsman. An excellent fielder.

Harry Killoran
Harry plays his cricket at Chester Boughton Hall and was the Cheshire Youth Cricket Player of the Year in 2012. A 15 year-old off-spinner, he took 29 wickets at just 14 last summer for the Cheshire junior sides, while he also took four wickets for his club first eleven in the senior Cup Final as his club beat Hyde in a high-scoring encounter.

Perrijay Blair
"PJ" plays his cricket at Chesterfield and is a fast-medium bowler who can score good runs. Time will tell if he emerges as a genuine all-rounder, but he is unquestionably a young player with genuine potential for improvement.

Aaron Hibell
Aaron plays his cricket at Ticknall and is a talented left-handed all-rounder. He and Blair shared a superb ninth wicket stand of 131 for the ninth wicket against Leicestershire's Academy last summer, stealing an excellent one-wicket win for the side.

They join  Ben Cotton, Tom Taylor, Greg Cork, Mykylo Bird, Harvey Hosein, Greg Massingham and Will Davis in a young, but highly talented squad of players

I am sure that, like me, you all wish them well and look forward to further news of their continued development.

Get cracking, lads!