Azende, 14, earns spot in Bay side
Holders Bailey’s Bay have named 14-year-old colt Azende Furbert in their team for their first round Eastern Counties match against Flatts tomorrow at Sea Breeze Oval.The young batsman gets his chance for Bay after some promising performances this season, including 82 against St. David’s in the first round of the Junior Eastern Counties last weekend which helped lead his team to a 161-run victory.Furbert becomes one of the youngest colts in 108 years of Eastern Counties, and his captain Stephen Outerbridge says he deserves his chance.“He basically dominates junior cricket,” said the Bay skipper, who also broke into the Counties at that age. Furbert also bowls off spin.“We took him to England with us recently and he is one of the better players coming through. He is averaging about 20 this season, he has opened and batted number three and has done well for himself. He really loves cricket, he reminds me of myself.”Bay have made a couple of changes from last year’s team that set batting records against Flatts, including the highest individual score of 218 by Glenn Blakeney who is retained along with the other guest player, Tre Manders of Western Stars.Manders, who was born just yards from Sea Breeze Oval, marked his debut last year with 106 in a record stand of 232 for the second wicket with Blakeney as Bay amassed 448 for six on their way to a 295-run victory.Again Bay have named a strong batting line-up, with Dennico Hollis recalled to add further depth to that department. Bay suffered a shock defeat last weekend to Somerset in the Knockout Cup, a result that will ensure the champions don’t take their opponents lightly.Bay are leading the Premier Division and were chasing a league and Knockout double before Somerset defeated them in the semi-final last weekend.“We kind of needed that, the guys got a little complacent but the focus has been real good in the training sessions we’ve had since the game against Somerset so I’m quite happy going into the game on Saturday,” Outerbridge stated.“We’ve lost before and won before so that is a part of sports. Flatts are a good team and pose a threat and every team that plays in the Eastern Counties brings a bit of quality to the tournament and you can’t underestimate no one. There’s no game that we go into that we take anyone for granted.“Flatts are a very competitive team so we will look to put in a really good performance. It was a really good game last year which we dominated and it was a special occasion with a lot of records broken, but this is a new year, a new wicket, new atmosphere and new player players so anything can happen.”Flatts were due to select their team last night.Bailey’s Bay team: Stephen Outerbridge (capt), Rodney Trott, Terryn Fray, Kyle Hodsoll, Sinclair Smith, Tre Manders, Cal Dill, Azende Furbert (colt), Glenn Blakeney, Dennico Hollis, Lateef Trott. Res: Darius Usher, Coolridge Durham.