Back to News Norfolk County Age Group Open Trial/Observation Nominations 2025-26
22nd July 2025
As in previous years, the NCF is seeking open trials nominations for player selection in to the highly successful and respected Norfolk County Age Group ‘CAG’ cricket system for the 2025/26 summer season.
(Similar to last year, players are no longer required to be nominated by a qualified coach and it is encouraged that parents/guardians fill out the nomination form. However, we still encourage parents talk to coaches before submitting nominations.)
This is a superb opportunity for players to be a part of the County Youth Player Pathway for boys and girls. We are holding our initial trials outdoors at Sprowston Cricket Club.
2025/26 CAG Outdoor Hardball Trial/Assessments
The exact dates and times for each session are still to be decided but these will be held initial trials on the 18th,19th and 20th of August and run by CAG coaches. We will communicate with all nominated trialists once full details of the Open Trials have been confirmed. (Players that cannot attend in August will be given the opportunity to trial at a later date.)
Any player already in a CAG Squad for 2025 does NOT need to be nominated or attend the outdoor trials as they will join at the second stage of trials.
2025/26 Nomination Categories
The 2025/26 County-Age-Group open trials nomination process will now start at Boys U13 and Girls U13s.
- County Age Group – Boys (U13, U14, U15*, U16, U18)
- County Age Group – Girls (U13, U14, U16, U18)
Minimum Age
The minimum age we will accept nominations for both the U13 Boys and U13 Girls nominations is a genuine U12 cricketer as of the new 2025/26 school curriculum year (School Year 7 in 2025/26). Children in school year 6 or below will not be able to be included in the formal County Age Group setup but will be able to be included in the Early Engagement Programme (see below).
*Please note the under 15 boys programme will have a shorted summer programme but still have a full winter programme.
Early Engagement Programme (Under 10 Boys, Under 11 Boys and Under 12 Boys/ Girls) 2025/2026
Instead of running formal County Age-Group Squads for the Under 10,11 and 12 Boys/Girls Age-Groups, we will be running regional Early Engagement Programme instead which focus on providing quality coaching opportunities for more players than a traditional county squad throughout the winter months (before and post-Christmas) and then providing match play opportunities during the summer season.
Full details about the Early Engagement Programme for 2025/26 will be shared once the deadline for nominations for the CAG trials/assessments has passed.
Norfolk Youth Cricket Hardball Trial Process
Phase 1 – Open outdoor trials for all CAG age-groups. These take place outdoors on the 18th ,19th and 20th of August at Sprowston cricket club. All players welcome. Existing County Cricketers not required to be involved in Phase 1 of the process. County Coaches will observe all players and recommend players to be put through to Phase 2 of the trial process. All players informed of decision via email following sessions.
Phase 2 – Indoor trial process that will take place at Langley Preparatory School (Taverham Hall) between October and December each year. There will be multiple sessions per age-group. At this stage, the previous year county players join the process along with those players who were successful in phase 1 of the process. After the final trial in Phase 2, the lead coach, in consultation with the Performance Manager and assistant coaches will pick the county squad for the season. Feedback provided to those players who are unsuccessful in phase 2 from the Performance Manager.
There is no cost for being involved in the Norfolk Youth Cricket trial process.
Open Trials Registration
Please try to ensure you list your player in the right age group. Please list the age group they will be in for the 2026 season. Remember that a player should be under that age at midnight on 31st August 2025 (i.e. for a 2025 U13 player they need to be Under 13 years old on 31st August)
Nominations this year are only being accepted online. Please complete the form online below.
Additional Important Information
Please Note: To be eligible to play for Norfolk, all players need to meet at least 1 criteria listed below.
- Born in Norfolk
- Live in Norfolk
- School in Norfolk
- Play Club Cricket in Norfolk
CLOSING DATE
- Saturday 16th August 2025 at 6pm
QUESTIONS/QUERIES
If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Head of Performance Pathway, Neil Hornbuckle via email or phone.
Email: neil.hornbuckle@norfolkcricket.co.uk
Phone: 07389 724515
