Sheringham's young cricketers are involved in a double celebration.The under-15s are county champions and the under-13s are East Region Champions.Sheringham Under-13 earned the right to represent the club on a national stage after continuing their impressive season by being crowned East Region Champions.

Sheringham's young cricketers are involved in a double celebration.

The under-15s are county champions and the under-13s are East Region Champions.

Sheringham Under-13 earned the right to represent the club on a national stage after continuing their impressive season by being crowned East Region Champions.

A total of 1,799 clubs started out in the MCC Spirit of Cricket Under-13 National Club Championship.

After starting their campaign back in May, they were crowned county champions with a comprehensive 10-wicket victory of Lowestoft in June.

They then went on to beat Suffolk champions Mildenhall in a close encounter to earn a place in the Regional Finals Day at Bishop's Stortford last month.

The champions of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire stood between Sheringham and a place in the national finals. In the regional semi-finals they were drawn against Wanstead CC (Essex), and after looking on the verge of defeat staged a remarkable fightback in the field to claim a place in the final with a two-run victory.

Letchworth CC (Hertfordshire) had defeated the Cambridgeshire champions in the other semi-final and so provided the opposition in the East of England Regional Final.

Letchworth got off to a good start with the bat, but another remarkable turnaround with the ball gave Sheringham a gettable target of 84 to chase.

Some sensible batting kept the score ticking along and with an over to spare Sheringham completed the win.

So Sheringham travelled to the National Finals at Oakham School, Leicestershire on August 4 for a week of cricket against the other seven regional champions in a round robin format representing Norfolk and the East of England, with just eight clubs left out of 1,799 that started out.

Day one was a total washout, as rain cancelled play against Wakefield Thornes (Yorkshire) and Hatherleigh (Devon).

Day two and in a closely-contested match against Derbyshire side Barton under Needwood, Sheringham bowled and fielded tightly to restrict their opponents to 89 off their 20 overs.

Sheringham started their replydisappointingly. C Taylor (34) was well supported by O Sutton (10) but with a disastrous collapse from the following batsmen, Sheringham fell agonisingly close, losing by one run.

In the afternoon match against Old Northamptonians, Sheringham again bowled and fielded well, F Sutton (2-12) and P Sheridan (3-20), kept their final score to 97.

Sheringham started their innings with a much-improved positive attitude. H Blackiston (30), O Sutton (16) and P Sheridan (25) helped Sheringham reach the target in the 18th over, winning by five wickets.

Day three and after another wet start, the game against Leamington (Warwickshire) was reduced to 10 overs. Leamington went in to bat first and set about some poor bowling and fielding, reaching 89. Sheringham fell 15 runs short after three disappointing run-outs. H Blackiston (12), C Taylor (13) and P Sheridan (15) did well, but again the tail didn't wag.

The afternoon match paired Sheringham with Yateley (Hampshire) who batted first with a good top order performance. Sheringham pulled the game back in the last six overs, restricting them to 127.

Again Sheringham contributed to their own downfall with some dreadful running between the wickets. H Blackiston (13), F Sutton (12) and N Lomax (10) the only players contributing to 67 all out.

On the final day and after another delayed start, Sheringham took on North Middlesex who batted superbly with three of their players retiring on 30. A good effort in the field by Sheringham didn't stop them reaching 123 off their 20 overs. P Sheridan(2-24) and O Esse (2-13) were the pick of the bowlers.

Again Sheringham's batting performance let them down with more poor running between the wickets. C Taylor (30) and J Starke-Welch (20) being the pick of the batsmen as Sheringham again collapsed and were bowled out for 84.

Overall Sheringham finished in seventh place and were awarded the fair play trophy that was decided by all of the umpires.

It was a great achievement for a club of this size, and the boys can be extremely proud of their efforts, as they have done the club and Norfolk proud. The regional and national finals have been a great experience, and will stand the boys in good stead.

The Fair Play Trophy is also a great accolade, and shows that not only do the boys have talent but that they also play the game in the right spirit.

Yesterday Sheringham Under-13 looked to complete a fantastic season at Bradenham to play Vauxhall Mallards in the final of the County Eight-a-Side Trophy.