Merrion CC Youth had an excellent season despite the difficulties caused by a very wet July. In terms of participation there are over 220 registered youth members, with the very popular ‘Fun Fridays’ providing an enjoyable introduction to cricket and the club for the younger kids and their families. On the playing front Merrion won three Cricket Leinster youth leagues and four cups, which included two Cricket Ireland Youth All-Ireland Cups.
Youth Age Group Winners:
Minor A Girls Winners of Cricket Leinster Minor League Conference A
Junior B Boys Winners of Cricket Leinster Junior B League Conference A
Cubs B Joint Winners of Cricket Leinster Cubs B League Conference A
U17 Boys Winners of Cricket Leinster U17 Cup and Cricket Ireland All-Ireland U17 Cup
U13 Boys Winners of Cricket Leinster U13 Cup and Cricket Ireland All-Ireland U13 Cup
The Junior Girls team were also runners up in their league and the U15 Girls team got to the final of the Cricket Leinster U15 Girls Cup, losing to a very strong Clontarf side.
Over the season Merrion youth played 95 matches, winning 52 matches, losing 36 matches, with 2 matches resulting in a tie, 2 matches not being able to achieve a result and the remainder U9 Blitzes
Several of our Youth sides also embarked on tours over the summer. We took one Boys team and one Girls team on a pre-season trip to Holywood Cricket Club (Northern Ireland). During the summer holidays one Boys team heading to Cardiff for matches and took in a Hundred match and one Girls team travelled to London to watch a Hundred match at Lords. These events are fantastic experiences and opportunities for our players and many MANY thanks to the parents and volunteers who organised the events.
We would finally like to recognise and say thanks to all the players who pulled on a Merrion jersey through the summer. They all did so giving full effort, played with a smile on your face, supported your teammates and played the game in the proper spirit. Also, many thanks to the parents, guardians and supporters who help to get players prepared and bring players to matches. Also, the Youth Team Managers gave an incredible amount of effort and time to pull the teams together and lead the teams through the season. Finally a massive thank you to Christian Dijkstra and Lesley Light, who led up the Youth Section again, we can’t thank you enough for all your effort and desire to put the young players at Merrion first.
Youth Representative Players 2023
In terms of Cricket Ireland and Cricket Leinster Representative sides, Merrion had a number of youth players representing different age-group teams.
Cricket Ireland Representatives
- Daniel Forkin and Jordan Neill played for the Cricket Ireland U19 Men on their tour of England.
- Annabel Squires and Niamh MacNulty represented Cricket Ireland U19 Women at the U19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa.
- Annabel and Niamh also played for the Cricket Ireland Women’s Development team for matches against Scotland A.
- Sebastian Dijkstra represented Cricket Ireland U17 Boys team.
- Ally Boucher, Annabel Squires, Isabel Light and Niamh MacNulty represented the Cricket Ireland Girls U17 team.
- Síbha Bhoja represented the Cricket Ireland U15 Girls team.
Cricket Leinster Representatives
- Sebastian Dijkstra represented Cricket Leinster U17 Boys. Declan de Kock was asked to take part in the squad but was unable to attend.
- Tom Squires represented Cricket Leinster U15 Boys.
- Jan Dijkstra represented Cricket Leinster U13 Boys.
- Sophie Stewart represented Cricket Leinster Women’s Futures Series.
- Ally Boucher, Annabel Squires, Isabel Light, Lucy Kay, Niamh MacNulty and Síbha Bhoja represented Cricket Leinster U17 Girls.
- Aisling Lawlor, Aoife Hayden, Caitlin Dassanayke and Síbha Bhoja represented Cricket Leinster U15 Girls.
- Isolde Ní Dhonaill, Mihika Sahu, Poppy Miller and Tansy Ní Dhonaill represented Cricket Leinster U13 Girls.
- Daniel Forkin, Isaac Dijkstra and Sebastian Dijkstra represented Cricket Leinster School Boys.
Congratulations to all players who were selected to play for representative squads over the past 12 months, it is a tremendous honour for you, your family and your club and you all represented yourselves with great distinction and pride.