Carlisle were disappointed to miss out on the Cumbria League Premier Division title again after being successful in 2019 – the last time it was contested.
But the runners-up can take heart, in particular, at one young man who has come through the ranks to earn his starting place in the first team during 2021.
Sixteen-year-old Josh Stirling has emerged as quite a promising talent and he bowled more overs in the Premier Division than any other player in the League. With limited first team experience that is a remarkable stat.
Club secretary Mark Davidson said: “The rapid development of Josh is an example of what can be achieved with hard work and application, and to watch him bowl his right-arm orthodox spin has been a something I have personally enjoyed this year.
“The teams he has now represented are legion – Cumbria U18, Durham U18, Cumbria Development, Lancashire U18, Lancashire Development and Lancashire 2nd XI.”
A pupil of Caldew School, and encouraged by his grandfather to play cricket, he started training with Carlisle aged nine and played junior cricket at Edenside from Under-10’sto Under-15’s.
He played one season, when he was 14, for Rockcliffe in the Eden Valley Premier when he took 18 wickets before returning to play for Carlisle seconds.
He did enough to impress first team captain Marc Brown and was promoted to the first team.
Josh has come right through Cumbria’s age group system since starting at Under-11s and is clearly one for the future.
