BALDWIN BACK ON HAPPY HUNTING GROUND
Matthew Baldwin should feel at home when he returns to Norfolk
early next month to represent England against the youngsters
from Sweden in a boys' one-day international training match
at Hunstanton.
It was almost two years ago that the Lancastrian teenager
was in Sheringham to win the English Under-16 Championship
for the McGregor Trophy. In blustery conditions more suited
to March than July, Baldwin overcame an opening hole eight
in the final round to win by five strokes.
Since then the 18-year-old former Lancashire Boys champion
from Hesketh has represented England in the Westfriese Junior
Masters in Holland and reached the quarterfinals of the English
Amateur Championship at Alwoodley, Leeds, last summer.
Now Baldwin aims to make it a happy return to East Anglia
after England accepted a request from the Swedes, who will
be in the country for a week's coaching, to provide opposition
for a training match on Monday 5th April.
In taking up the challenge, England have named ten players
from its School of Excellence, five of whom are boy caps and
most of the rest have earned under-16 honours.
Several others selected for Hunstanton trailed Baldwin home
that day in 2002 at Sheringham, most notably Gary Boyd, Ben
Evans and Grant Slater. All three are boy internationals,
Northants-based Boyd for the past two years while Evans, from
Sussex, and Cornwall's Slater, joint holder of the Carris
Trophy, made their debuts in 2003.
Another boy cap, Alex MacGregor, also from Cornwall, is also
included along with Ben Parker, winner of the European Young
Masters in Germany last year, and Yorkshire's John Parry,
a former winner of the under-18 title in the North of England
Youths Championships.
The others selected are Lawrence Allen, from Hertfordshire,
who reached the semi-finals of the English Amateur last year,
Surrey's Seve Benson, and Oliver Fisher from Essex, at 15
the youngest member of the side and runner-up in last year's
McGregor Trophy at Rotherham.
The England team:
Lawrence Allen (Brookmans Park)
Matthew Baldwin (Hesketh)
Seve Benson (Wentworth)
Gary Boyd (Northants County)
Ben Evans (Rye)
Oliver Fisher (West Essex)
Alex MacGregor (Killiow)
Ben Parker (Gut Waldhof)
John Parry (Harrogate)
Grant Slater (Carlyon Bay)
Reserves:
Tom Sherreard (Chart Hills)
Graham Benson (Leighton Buzzard)
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