Newcastle Cricket Club 2013 junior Player of Season, Sam Warwick, and English bowler Graham Onions at the Club’s 2013 Junior WASPS Night

For up-and-coming star Sam Warwick, enjoying the game of cricket, rather than awards, are what drives him to play. Yet his committment and skill to the sport have been rewarded by his local club.

The 13-year-old batsman won the Newcastle Cricket Club’s 2013 Junior Player of the Season award for his fine performance throughout last season and for helping the Club’s Thirds team – which includes a number of talented juniors as well as senior players – to win the Bank Cup. He managed to score 120 runs in all competition last season.

Warwick and his teammates received some advice on how to avoid and manage injuries from the English bowler Graham Onions who presented the Junior WASPS awards in December. The junior batman started playing the game two years ago.

The Junior WASPS awards were created eight years ago to recognise young players who display outstanding performance throughout the season. Warwick said he was “honoured” to be given the award. “I didn’t expect it; I didn’t think about it, but it was such an honour and so delighting,” he said.

The junior teams Warwick was part of as an under-13 player did not win any accolades last season. But Warwick has hopes that Newcastle Cricket Club juniors will win some silverware this coming season. “Last season, we did well in the league but only managed to reach the second round of the cup competition,” he said. “This season we hope to balance the two and produce good performances that win trophies.”

Warwick looks up to the likes of Jimmy Anderson and Kevin Pietersen, both of whom play professionally at international level, and has started establishing himself as a right-handed batsman but he sees himself as an all-rounder. “Many people think that I am batsman but I’d like to think I am both. That’s how I want to grow as a player – I want to be able to bat and bowl effectively,” he explains.

Though his cricket career may be promising, Sam may yet take up an altogether different sport. “I love playing football too. That’s what I do with my friends in our free time,” he said.

The club’s junior teams will start with their indoor training in February, before moving outdoors in April.