Saffron Walden Academy were invited to send an under 13 and an under 16 side to the Woodford Wells cricket week. For the under 16s this represented their last game in junior cricket before they progress into adult teams at Saffron Walden and in other loca

Saffron Walden Academy were invited to send an under 13 and an under 16 side to the Woodford Wells cricket week.

For the under 16s this represented their last game in junior cricket before they progress into adult teams at Saffron Walden and in other local clubs.

The under 16s lost the toss in their clash. They conceded 302 runs off their 40 overs with Larsen, Oakley, Pledger and Picton-Turberville sharing the wickets.

The Wells' opener, Chris Briggs, hit a classy 131 with support from R Patel (69) and D Patel (41). Even with a fast outfield and short boundaries, this represented a mammoth total, setting the senior Walden Academy side a target of 7.5 runs per over.

Mark Pearson set out Walden's attacking intentions with an aggressive 45 with steady support from Andy Laws. When the first wicket fell, skipper Joe Barrs came to the wicket and the momentum was maintained with some strong hitting and excellent shot selection.

Laws (19), Wyatt (8), Pledger (34), Picton-Turberville (29) and a confident 45 not out from Mark Kimberley made significant contributions, but it was a mature and confident innings from skipper Barrs that secured the victory.

He was 95 not out at the close with Kimberly hitting the winning runs with an over to spare.

Manager and academy director David Barrs felt this was an impressive victory. "The boys deserved this after a frustrating season in which we underperformed and had vital fixtures rained off." he said.

"It has been a pleasure to see them develop since I took them over five years ago. It is a strong squad and has been at the forefront of developments in our junior section since we established the academy in 2005."

David also said that one particularly pleasing feature of the side is the way in which they have welcomed new players from other clubs and respected them for what they could offer.

"These players have added new dimensions to the team. They will now return to play full-time with their clubs or commit themselves to Walden in order to play at the highest standard they are capable of."

David added he would like to thank local clubs such as Newport, Rickling, Elmdon, Cokenach and Sawston for their support.

If there are any clubs or individual players who would like to be involved with the under 16 squad next year, they should contact David on 07760 484390 or e-mail him on barrsd@aesessex.co.uk.

The under 13 squad continued what has been an outstanding season by bowling Woodford Wells out for 79 in what was meant to be a 35-over game, needing barely 20 overs to complete their task.

Tom Picton-Turberville picked up four wickets on his debut.

A confident opening stand from skipper Jack Hawkins and Peter Herd saw Walden off to a good start as they took the victory.

The Academy fielded a team in their annual match against their coaches last week.

This is regarded as a graduation match as most of the players prepare to move on from The Academy.

The Academy made 149 off their 20 overs, including another half-century from Joe Barrs.

Pearson (33) and Picton-Turberville (32), made valuable contributions while Read, Hughes, Rodder and Ghelani shared the five wickets.

The experience and maturity of the Academy staff, however, saw them through to victory with Rodda (41) and new boy Tony Smith (59 no), doing the damage.

Darren White took two of the four wickets.

In 2006 The Academy set up its first girls' squad and it's going from strength to strength with 25 players now registered.

They are coached by Tony Smith, Jackie Coleman, Peter Hill and Raj Ghelani with some specialist input from Mark Hughes and John Read.

The girls' manager, Raj Ghelani, believes the success is down to The Academy's philosophy of creating a girls' only environment.

"The girls build their confidence without having anything to prove and those who have the skills and confidence can progress to playing with the boys," he said.

Fiona Harris is the only woman to represent Saffron Walden in league cricket. She played for the third XI in 2001 and now plays for Loughton Ladies.

Academy youngsters Emma and Abigail Borgeson, Kathy Laws and Phoebe Nash all play cricket at county level.