Durham Cricket are delighted that two members of its boys under 15s squad will represent the North of England at the prestigious Bunbury Festival.
Brett Hutchinson and Callum Gaffney have been selected for the week-long festival which commences on Sunday at Loughborough University the home of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s high-performance centre.
Gaffney of Durham City Cricket Club has been in fine form for Durham Cricket’s representative sides so far this summer scoring 364 runs with a best of 107 against Yorkshire, in a two wicket win for Durham. While he has 327 runs for Durham City Cricket Club notching a top score of 76* against Hylton in the Durham & North East Cricket League Division 1.
Sunderland Cricket Club youngster Brett Hutchinson has also had an impressive campaign so far as Sunderland’s leading run scorer with 916 runs, adding 9 half centuries with a best of 84* against Burnmoor in the North East Premier League Under 15s cup. Hutchinson also has 13 wickets representing Sunderland this summer.
The famous festival is into its 35th year and its third in the current format as a formalised part of ECB’s Player Pathway. Trials and assessments for each region have been going on since the winter, with county coaches nominating their top players for consideration for final selection.
For many young players, the Bunbury Festival is their first chance to benchmark themselves against their peers from different parts of the country. And the process clearly pays dividends, with over 90 former Bunbury players going on to represent England, including 10 from the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup squad.
The North will kick off the week against South & West in the T20 competition on Sunday, with the 50 over competition starting on Monday against London & East, South & West on Tuesday before rounding off the week on Friday with the T20 finals.
Durham Cricket Academy Director John Windows said: “I’m really pleased for the 2 lads from Durham selected for Bunbury this year.
“It’s a great reward for the hard work they have put in and recognition of their excellent performances at county age group and club level.
“It has been great to see their development over the last few years and I’m sure this will be another fantastic experience in their cricketing journey.”