Sawston & Babraham Cricket Club all-rounder Noah Thain earns England U19s call-up

Sawston & Babraham Cricket Club all-rounder Noah Thain has been selected for England U19s to play Australia and Ireland in an upcoming One Day International (ODI) series, which starts later this month.

He will be part of the squad to play Ireland in two ODIs at Loughborough on August 21 and 23, before hosting Australia in a five-match series, held across Beckenham and Hove, between August 26 and September 4.

Earlier this year, the 18-year-old all-rounder, who first started playing cricket in his back garden with his older brother Sam at around the age of eight, signed a rookie summer contract with Essex County Cricket Club, having been part of the Essex Academy since 2021. He has now made his List A debut with Essex.

Noah says he felt “very excited” when he got the call-up to the U19 England squad, noting that it’s come at a good time ahead of the U19 Cricket World Cup next year in Sri Lanka.

Now he is more determined than ever to prove himself.

“With Essex at the moment in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, I’m trying to prove myself on the county stage and now trying to take that hopefully to the national stage for the U19s, which is exciting,” he says.

The player, who first became involved in the Cambridge set-up at the age of 10 – and who is a great admirer of current England captain Ben Stokes – enjoyed a memorable 2022 season scoring over 850 runs at an average of 77, which included 293 runs in an Essex U18s match against Kent at Garon Park.

This achievement was part of rich vein of form, which saw him reach the century mark in four consecutive games for the county.

Asked if he prefers ODIs or Test cricket, Noah said: “I’ve always preferred Test cricket just because so much can happen in such a small amount of time that can change a game – and I feel like you’re more involved as a bowler. And as an all-rounder that kind of spurs me on a bit… But I love all formats really – just cricket!”

And he enjoys batting and bowling in equal measure.

“My bowling’s come on a lot once I joined with Essex, which is good,” said Noah. “I’ve actually made myself a bit of an all-rounder. Definitely a batting all-rounder but I’ve definitely added another string to my bow by learning to be more skilful with the ball.”

Sawston & Babraham Cricket Club were crowned as the East Anglian Premier Cricket League Champions last year and currently lie second in the table behind Swardeston. Their next match is this Saturday (August 12) against Sudbury.

Looking ahead to that game, club captain Dan Heath, who says he’s “really pleased” for Noah, noted: “We have got quite a good record against Sudbury, we really enjoy playing away there – it’s a really nice ground, with short, straight boundaries which seem to suit us quite well.

“We’ve got six games to go, and really if we’re going to mount a challenge to Swardeston, we’re going to have to win all six.

“Obviously the weather’s been very frustrating over the last few weeks – it’s very difficult to build momentum when you’re playing, then you’re off, playing, then you’re off. But we’re really excited to get to Sudbury. We’ve won every time we’ve played there.

“Hopefully we can put ourselves on a run and who knows where we’ll end up come mid-September?”

Noah is not sure if he’ll be turning out for Sawston & Babraham on Saturday, as Essex have games on Friday and Sunday, but says: “I love playing with them – it’s great fun, and Dan Heath’s been a great idol to me. He taught me a thing or two about life.”

Does Noah think it’s possible for the club to overtake Swardeston at the top of the table? “For sure,” he replies, “I mean we’ve got such a good team, we’ve got such good depth. For sure, it’s possible. Why not?

“We did some things last year that clubs haven’t done before; we won a thriller against Mildenhall at the end of last year.

“It wasn’t in our favour for the majority of the game and then a few experienced players brought us back – and we have the same potential this year.”