Embargo Date: None - Immediate
Rishi Sharath, a chinaman bowler from Slough CC, and Joe Ellis-Grewal, an orthodox left-armer from Wanstead & Snaresbrook CC, have been selected for a scholarship at the Pune academy to learn all aspects of spin-bowling in India for a week next February, the Club Cricket Conference announced today.
Both aged 20, they were chosen by the three judges Min Patel, John Emburey and Keith Medlycott after trials at Lord's on October 28. The scheme was backed by the Club Cricket Conference, All Out Cricket magazine and Kingfisher Beer, with the idea of giving top-grade experience to under-21 cricketers outside the professional county sphere.
Sharath, a mechanical engineering student at Southampton University, caught the eye with his left-arm wrist variations, including a well disguised googly. Leeds University student Ellis-Grewal was a key member of the Wanstead team who stormed the Essex Premier League and reached a national final of the Kingfisher Beer Cup at Derby.
From 121 applicants, 34 bowlers came under scrutiny at Lord's, and the judges said they were impressed by the standard. The cricketers were all given an opportunity to discuss spin-bowling with the experts during their hour-long stay in the nets, and these conversations proved to be an important part of the selection process. Patel said: "We posed questions and wanted to find out how much they knew about the game. It wasn't just about the art of bowling, it was about the art of thinking about bowling, thinking batters out and about your own game. A five-minute chat can give you a greater insight than arguably watching them bowl for 15 minutes."
Emburey certainly agreed with that. "That was the key for me," he said. "You're looking for the X factor and there was certainly some of that. The standard was high for their age group, and some of those who might miss out, with the right help and encouragement along the line, can become really good cricketers."
The idea of the scheme was to help club cricketers improve and allow them to dream, because the India scholarships were wonderful incentives.
SPIN SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Rishi Sharath (Slough CC)
Joe Ellis-Grewal (Wanstead & Snaresbrook CC)
Other trialists
Chris McKie (Gidea Park & Romford CC)
Sam Sullivan (Buckhurst Hill CC)
Imran Qayyum (Finchley CC)
Jaskeerat Singh (Ealing CC)
Connor Heaps (Blunham CC)
Scott Dormody (Langleybury CC)
Amit Pankhania (Richmond CC)
Hamzah Khan (Harrow CC)
Saif Kazim (Slough CC)
Rab Nawaz (Didsbury CC)
Nick Wake (Chipping Sodbury CC)
Kazmi Tahir (unatt)
Mohammed Usman Khan (unatt)
Andrew O'Donovan (Sawbridgeworth CC)
George Gregory (Cople Argus CC)
Ben Harris (Gerrards Cross CC)
Tanvir Hasan (Christchurch CC)
Ross McGaughrin (Odiham & Greywell CC)
Liam Mitchell (Welwyn Garden City CC)
Joshua Poysden (Hastings Priory CC)
Kit Gordon-Stuart (Cublington CC)
Jamie Bristow-Diamond (Bexhill CC)
Ryan Spann (Tattenhall CC)
Henry Dawson (Shifnal CC)
Daniel Vernon (Kenilworth Wardens CC)
Vishakh Chandrasekhar (Durham City CC)
Elliot Green (Shrewsbury CC)
Nick Pang (Midsomer Norton CC)
Lewis Coates (Newport CC)
Christopher Varley (Blaydon CC)
Thomas Richards (Calne CC)
David Miles (Swindon CC)
Check out the Club Cricket Conference:
Twitter @clubcricketconf
Website at www.club-cricket.co.uk
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Notes for Editors:
An article by Charles Randall with more information about the competition is at http://www.club-cricket.co.uk/news/details/188
The Club Cricket Conference (CCC) was established in 1915 and is the oldest and largest organisation representing the interests of club cricket in the country.
The modern-day organisation is helping the ECB to further the cause of recreational cricket and, above all, to increase the number of adult players and to embrace the wider cricket family.
It is also continuing to provide a structure offering opportunities to players to participate at the highest standards short of the professional game. This is achieved by a programme of new and traditional summer fixtures against strong opposition for men’s, women’s and U21 XIs and by mounting and hosting a series of tour to and from ICC affiliate countries. Recent fixture and tours have included Tanzania, Argentina and Denmark.
In 2011 a panel headed by Alf Langley (Shepherds Bush CC) produced an exhaustive report analysing how the CCC could champion club cricket to maximum effect. The CCC has been working on initiatives to heighten interest in club cricket and maximise ground usage - from parks to Focus Clubs. The traditional work on behalf 1,000 member clubs and leagues remains the fixture bureau, the handbook, organising two tiers of inter-league competition, setting up tours and arranging high-quality representative matches, including a chance to play at Lord's against MCC.
The Conference is now looking beyond its established heartlands in the South of England and is working closely with the ECB and the Midlands Club Cricket and League Cricket conferences to establish a wider range of support measures for clubs and park teams to create a stronger and more representative body in support of the recreational game.
Further information about the CCC can be found at http://www.club-cricket.co.uk/about
Any questions about this Media Release should be addressed to: Gulfraz Riaz on 07968 443546