I played for Cumbria Under 16s in what was then the Texaco County Championship North (a long time ago as I'm now 44!) and I was one of only two players in the team not from St Bees School, which is a private school in West Cumbria. I felt like an intruder at a private party as the coaches spent all their time with the established members of the team and barely gave me the time of day. I didn't play too badly but was never asked back. In all honesty, I wasn't quite good enough to stand out at that level and Cumbria were well and truly hammered by Lancs, Yorks, Northumberland and South of Scotland but I hope that the selection net for County juniors is cast a bit wider these days as some of the private school guys were no better than other guys I played against week in week out, but who never got a chance at County level.