Barnsley’s first eleven will have a different feel to it for the 2025 season with the club deciding to go with youth and develop our own players for the future, it meant a lot of older experienced players leaving for various reasons. For nearly a decade Ali Jahangir and Oliver Jackson have led the clubs spin attack to good effect, but with Oliver emigrating to Australia and Ali deciding it was the right time to move on, the club are excited to see how the next generation of spinners progress. Last year’s skipper Liam Johnson, decided to retire, then move back to his childhood club, before finally deciding to join Tickhill CC. Losing the left arm options of Oliver and Liam made the club move their direction with their overseas pro. Jacob Cumming will play his cricket at Beverley CC. We wish all four well in the future.

24 year old new first team skipper Boeta Beukes will be the first choice off spinner, he started the 2024 season as the second team skipper but when given an opportunity in the first eleven, he took it with both hands and soon established himself as a reliable bowler at premier level. Joseph Simpkin has joined from Hollinsend and will look to develop at the club. William Nicholson has had a winter in Australia, doing well with both bat and bowl and they give another two off spinning options. Max Heseltine and Dairen Hirst-Spalding are two juniors who will hope to push for wickets to put their names in the hat for the top two sides. Rehan Khan, signed from Whitley Hall, and also on Derbyshire CCC’s books, is the first of our bowlers who turn the ball away from the right hand batters as our leading leg spinner. The other two who will lead the line are overseas South African Sean Whitehead and UAE U19 international Jash Giyanani. Having two exciting left arm spinners makes any side strong and the club are hoping they can hit their straps and make it difficult for any batter. Lewis Bray will offer another slow left arm option.

Even younger, we have Isaac Wilkes, who was the fourth team leading wicket taker in 2024, at 13 years old and Hayden Parker-Wake, who is the same age, they both offer an off spinning option to their captains. Therefore, the club are happy where they are at with slow bowlers and we hope that the competition throughout the squads will see all of them develop even further.

Also departing the club was Adam Copley and Sheryaar Ali. We’re particularly sad to see Shaz go, as he’s been at the club since he was 10 and has developed into a fine player. He wanted a fresh challenge but we hope that one day he’ll return home. As Sheryaar departs, his brother Zain has joined the club as a left arm seam option from Whiston PC. Seamers are becoming less and less in this day and age, especially ones that remain healthy. So we can’t wait to welcome Harvey Round back in May. He was a star in his first season but missed the complete 2024 season. Fingers crossed that he can develop further. His Yorkshire CCC team mate Rishwan Ishfaq has joined the club from Sheffield Collegiate and we’re excited to see how he performs at Premier League level. Manny Shinwari and Usman Khan are two of our other seam options and along with second team overseas Keanan Pretorius and Callum Bailey, it means the club have four left arm options for 2025.

The batting will be carried this season by the most exciting junior option in the league in the shape of Owen Smith. His century in the pre season friendly showed that this lad is about to go big at 18 years old. Last season he took another step in his brilliant young career, but the club can’t wait to see just how he develops with another year on his back. Oliver Bennett is another player who missed a full season with injury and he’ll hope he can establish himself at the top of the order in the first eleven. The two slow left arm options are more than capable batters and alongside the ever green Stephen Walters, they’ll make up the top order. Skipper Beukes and keeper Ciaran Stenton will also want to add valuable runs, as will Nicholson and Round. William Chapman will be hoping to continue his development too, he was the second team leading run scorer and will want to start pushing for a first eleven call up. Alfie Gosney and Freddie Chapman were second and fourth in the run charts for the twos and at 18 year old, they’ll want to start developing into premier league players. Freddie Egginton will want to impress at the top of the order for the third team, seeing him push for higher honours.

Genuine all rounders at the club will help to strengthen all the sides, as mentioned Whitehead and Giyanani are both all rounders who can win games with both bat and bowl. You’ve got Harvey Round and Boeta Beukes who are more than one disciplined. William Nicholson can bat in the top 4 and be more than reliable with the bowl. Callum Bailey’s left arm pace is aided by being a very clean hitter of the cricket ball. Ethan Shillito hits a heavy bowl and gives his skipper an option as a spinner. Third team skipper Alex Gough chips in with both bat and bowl and 15 year Ollie Chapman-Stott has shown that he can be equally impressive with both bat and bowl. Fourth team skipper Steve Dixon, will reluctantly bowl, but does give an opportunity to win games with either discipline. This gives the club more options when looking at who can be match winners throughout the sides in 2025.

All in all it’s going to be a learning year for the young first team but the club feel that there’s enough match winning performers within that team to see them finish mid table and a great platform for the young team to go on to honours in the future. The second team were relegated last year and with a more settled side and with the young players now twelve months wiser, they should be more than capable of mounting a challenge at the right end of the table. Again the thirds were relegated and they’ll be hoping to start the season with a flourish. The fourth team will continue to be the first dip of the toe into senior cricket for our outstanding juniors. Rohan Vemula and Archie Chapman-Stott are two lads who will benefit from senior cricket this summer.

It promises to be another great summer of cricket and we hope that the new players fit in seamlessly and we wish luck to all those that have departed. We hope to see people supporting the sides at both Shaw Lane and Woolley throughout the year.