It’s not just the all-conquering first team who are catching the eye at Welwyn Garden City Cricket Club – as the junior teams too have produced some impressive performances.

The main league season finished on Sunday with the finals day in the Saracens Herts Junior Leagues were held across the county.

And the Digswell Park-based club have plenty of involvement with five teams qualifying for the knockout stages in the eight age-group competitions.

The stars of the season were the U14s who won their quarter-final against a strong Bushey team, chasing down 145 for the loss of only three wickets in 19 overs.

Their finals day was at Broxbourne with St Margaretsbury providing the opposition in the semi-final.

WGC batted first and compiled 122 in 20 overs, a modest but defendable total, and in a day of close finishes St Margaretsbury could only manage two of the four runs needed from the last ball to send WGC through to the final.

That match pitched them against the might of Radlett, complete with numerous county players, and the odds of victory were lengthened by a target of 142.

They produced a brilliant effort in reply but fell agonisingly short, losing by a mere four runs.

The team's coach and director of cricket at WGC, Jamie Southgate, said: "At the beginning of the year the there was no expectation of achieving anything as I saw it as more of a development year to give our U13s some experience with a full size ball and pitch.

"But the talent and the character of the players was superb and as a coach I am extremely proud of them."

The end of the league season does not mean that junior cricket is over for 2019 at the club.

Training continues every week until the end of August and new members are always welcome to come along and have a go.

The junior section is the bedrock of the WGC club and essential for ensuring the continued success of the club at all levels.

Current and former juniors turn out for the senior teams every week in the Herts Cricket League and the club's policy is to create a smooth pathway from junior to senior cricket.

Email Ian Watkins, the organiser of youth cricket on juniorbees@wgccc.co.uk for more information.