TWO 14-year-old cricketers from North Yorkshire have been selected for the Yorkshire Junior Professional Academy (JPA).
Charlie Coulson, of Bedale High School, and Owen Kelly, of Richmond School, successfully took part in a day-long trial at the Headingley Cricket Centre, in Leeds, which saw 40 representative cricketers from Yorkshire and surrounding counties vying for places in the 18-man squad.
As members of the JPA, the boys will undergo ten days of coaching with the top coaches from Yorkshire County Cricket Club. This will be followed by representative matches against three county sides, rumoured to be Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire.
Charlie is an all-rounder who plays for Bedale High School, Hambleton and Richmondshire Area and Bedale Cricket Club, where he enjoyed his first taste of adult cricket last season.
Owen is also an all-rounder who plays for Richmond School, Richmond Cricket Club, Barton Cricket Club and represented North Yorkshire in his age group last season.
Charlie said: “When I heard about the trial I never expected to get in as I knew the standard would be so good. I just wanted to enjoy the day and make the most of the facilities and the coaching and if I got in then great.
“When I heard I’d been selected I was really surprised and excited. I’m really looking forward to working hard with the coaches and improving my game.”
The first two days of the JPA course have already taken place under the watchful eye of the Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and his team-mate Richard Pyrah.
Yorkshire head coach and Australian legend, Jason Gillespie, will also coach the boys during the course.
Both teenagers have also just been selected for North Yorkshire trials for this season’s squad and so could be in for a very busy, and hopefully successful, summer.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here