Shrewsbury beat Canterbury to win The Cricket Paper National U17’s Boys Final
Loughborough University was bathed in glorious sunshine as the game began on a true pitch and a lush outfield still damp from the previous day’s rain.
Shrewsbury School won the toss and decided to bat first on a previously used but good-looking strip.
They made a great start when Ollie Parton and Theo Wylie attacked in the first power play and added 60 in 7 overs before Parton fell to Harry Fulton.
Wylie, who survived a stumping appeal, continued to attack before falling to Dale for 63 in the 13th over.
Following the very hectic start the Canterbury spinners took a firmer grip and steadily brought the run rate down to 6 per over.
Nevertheless, with further solid contributions from Rhys Lewis (32), Jack Home (39) and Louise Hursthouse (31), Shrewsbury edged towards a respectable 203 for 7 in their 35 overs.
The final total of 203-7 from 35 overs was competitive, but not out of the reach of a Canterbury side that were previously undefeated all season. Connor Dale was the pick of the spinners and claimed 4 for 37.
For Canterbury, Burgess & Roberts made a great start, but a careless run out opened the door for the Shrewsbury bowlers and slowly but surely, they tightened their grip on proceedings.
Shrewsbury take control of the game at 58-3 from 13 overs Lewis, Bradshaw and Jenkins all bowled well and eventually Burgess, who had looked in great form, holed out to Jack Home in the deep for a well-constructed 50.
This was followed by another wicket in the next over for Ed Prideaux, which meant that as the rain arrived and the covers came on, Shrewsbury were 23 runs ahead via the Duckworth Lewis method.
The rain did not abate, and shortly after the two captains shook hands, with Shrewsbury victorious.
