Durham Cricket are well-represented at this year’s ECB David English Bunbury Festival with three Under-15 players being involved.
Robbie Dawson, Tom Ward and Stanley McAlindon are all taking part in the prestigious festival, which is part of ECB’s Player Pathway.
Dawson, Ward and McAlindon are playing for a team representing the North, that have won one 50-over game and lost a T20 and a 50-over fixture in the competition so far.
Dawson took 1-17 and two catches, McAlindon added 1-31 and one catch and Ward caught two and stumped one to contribute to their team’s 68-run win against London and East on Monday, 5 August.
The Bunbury Festival takes place at Felstead School, Essex, between 4-9 August, bringing together 56 of the best U15 schoolboy cricketers from England and Wales.
The famous festival is into its 33rd year and its second 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.
Durham’s Dawson, Ward and McAlindon are playing against the Midlands team today.