On Saturday, at Lord’s Cricket Ground, a side from Berkshire Cricket’s Reading Boys Hub lifted the national MCC Foundation Hub Finals trophy in front of an enthusiastic crowd of largely family and friends enjoying a memorable day at the Home of Cricket.
The national competition, which features Under 16 sides from regional Hubs across the country, affords state school educated boys and girls the chance to play in a national T20 competition, with the finalists benefitting from the amazing opportunity to play at the most iconic ground in the sport, Lord’s.
The competition features over 77 Hubs from across the country, with over 3,200 state school children taking part, with the Hubs providing free-to-access training and match across the UK, to open-up access to talent pathways, giving youngsters the opportunity to develop a life-long love of the game.
Berkshire Cricket has MCC Foundation Hubs at Reading, Slough, Newbury, and Bracknell, and has previously enjoyed success in the competition, with the Slough Boys Hub reaching the national final at Lord’s in 2021, although disappointingly losing out to Manchester.
On Saturday however, the Reading Boys Hub had their chance to reverse that result when they faced Bradford Boys in the final.
Earlier in the day, Guildford Girls had successfully defeated Bolton girls to lift the trophy for the South, and Reading Boys had the chance to make it a double for the South, and duly obliged.
Reading Captain Eshan Jain won the toss and elected to bat, with his side posting a competitive total of 128 in their 20 overs. In reply, Bradford’s skipper, Hudson Rowan hit a half century, although his side fell short in their chase, losing out by 12 runs to their Berkshire opponents.
Middlesex Cricket enjoys a successful partnership with Berkshire Cricket, with the likes of Jack Davies, Martin Andersson and Toby Greatwood all coming through the Berkshire ranks and into the Middlesex professional ranks, as well as several of the Club’s current EPG side being products of Berkshire’s successful youth programme.
We would like to pass on our congratulations to all involved in the Reading Boys Hub’s successful outing at Lord’s on Saturday, and we look forward to our partnership continuing to flourish in the years to come.
