Academy hoping it has six of the best
DURHAM have announced their Boys’ Academy intake for the 2022 season with six new players joining ahead of the summer.
Max Winskill, Daniel Hogg, Sebastian Hughes-Pinan, Henry Hopkins, Haydon Mustard and Callum Gaffney have signed academy deals for the first time and will be part of a 13-strong group of players.
The new academy prospects will link up with the current group of starlets, who will all remain on Academy deals for at least another 12 months.
Winskill is a right-arm fast bowler and middle-order bat who currently studies at Sedbergh School in Cumbria.
Hogg is a right-arm fast bowler and righthand lower-order batsman who studies at Durham School.
Gaffney, who also studies at Durham School, joins the Academy on the back of a successful summer across all age groups and club games.
His highest score for Durham Under-14s came against Yorkshire with 74 and he went on to take a best of 3-27 with the ball against Cumbria.
Right-hand top-order batsman and right-arm off-spinner Hopkins amassed 479 runs for Durham junior teams in 2021 with a best of 94 against Scotland, while he took 11 wickets with 2-11 against Staffordshire.
Hughes-Pinan is a slow left-arm bowler and left-hand middle-order
batsman who plays his club cricket at North East Premier League side Chester -le-Street.
He took 23 wickets in Durham age group cricket in 2021 with a best of 2-3 against Cumbria while he scored 221 runs with the bat.
Wicket-keeper batsman Mustard joins Durham Academy having played within the Northumberland county age group pathway.
A member of the 2021 Bunbury North team, Mustard scored 733 runs last summer at age-group cricket, averaging 43.12 which included a top score of 136 against Cambridge.
Alfie Taylor-Clarke, Joe Defty,
Stanley McAlindon, Ben McKinney, Mitchell Killeen, Ross Whitfield and Jack Scott will remain members of the squad this coming season.
Academy Director John Windows will again lead the young guns, working alongside high performance pathway coaches James Lowe and Cole Pearce.
Windows said: “It is always a great time of the year when we announce our Academy intake for the up-andcoming year.
“It is pleasing for the boys and their families to know they are continuing their cricketing journey with us at Durham.
“We have an exciting winter schedule in place for these youngsters who can continue to develop and work hand on their own game, while we will look at each individual’s needs moving towards the summer.”
■ DURHAM are organising a winter one-to-one coaching programme for young cricketers, starting in January.
The programme will offer sessions over eight weeks at The Louisa Centre in Stanley and is suitable for players aged eight or over.
Participants can choose batting, wicket-keeping, seam bowling or spin bowling to focus on during their 45-minute slot.
The sessions are on Mondays (6.30-7.15, 7.30-8.15 and 8.30-9.15) from January 31 are led by fullyqualified coaches.
For more details, or to enrol, go to the Durham Cricket website.