JUNIOR CRICKET IN CUMBRIA
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"FROM THE PLAYGROUND TO THE TEST
ARENA"
Young cricketers of all abilities in Cumbria are
catered for by a structure that is designed to develop their skills
from a very early age.
The "Chance to
Shine" scheme, designed to promote cricket in state schools by
sending in club coaches to teach the game, operates in 1,200 state
schools across the UK, including many in Cumbria. The Cricket
Foundation, which runs the scheme, aims to extend it to 5,200
primary and 1,500 secondary schools by 2015.
Many youngsters
first experience of Cricket will feature Kwik Cricket which is a simple game for all boys
and girls from five years of age upwards.
It is currently played in 8,000 primary schools and
over 4,500 of the 6,000 ECB affiliated clubs. It’s designed to
provide children with an introduction to cricket and can be played
either indoors or outdoors. |
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ASDA Kwik Cricket 2008 saw a surge in
participation amongst primary school pupils, with 23 per cent
more teams taking part than last year and a phenonemonal rise
in girls taking part, up 97 per cent on 2007 with over 25,000
girls aged 7 to 11 registered to take
part. | |
JUNIOR CRICKET AT CLUB LEVEL
Many
Cricket clubs across Cumbria run Junior Sections with teams in one
of the three Junior Cricket Leagues that operate across Cumbria -
The Barrow & District Junior League*, The Westmorland Junior League and the Cumbria
Junior Cricket League
* If contacts are
required for clubs in the Barrow & District League please
contact the webmaster
Teams compete at several
age groups - typically Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15 (Westmorland
League = Under 16). It is not uncommon for players as young as
School year 4 to be playing in Under 11 teams, so youngsters that
join their local clubs can often enjoy 7 or 8 years of competitive
Junior League Cricket.
A County Cup is contested at Under 13
and Under 15 level with overall Cumbrian winners going on to
represent our County in a National
competition.
COUNTY & DISTRICT
SQUADS
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The Cumberland Schools Cricket Association was
formed in November 1951 before changing to the Cumbria
Schools Cricket Association (C.S.C.A.) in
1974. It administers schoolboy cricket throughout
Cumbria, from arranging inter-school competitions, to running
the county age group sides from under 10 to under 15.
The C.S.C.A. is also a registered charity. A copy of the
C.S.C.A. Newsletter, providing further information can be
downloaded here. |
The C.S.C.A is
dedicated to finding the best players available to represent the age
group squads. This can only be done by recommendation.
Throughout Cumbria there are also 'District'
groups run by dedicated and qualified cricket coaches. If
these coaches see any players with potential they will inform the
County team managers who will invite the player for trial. If
successful the player will then attend winter nets and possibly be
selected to represent the county during the
summer.
District Squads are selected at
Under 12 and Under 14 age groups. Teams from neighbouring districts
will play each other initially. Thereafter representative teams from
the North and South of the County (made up of players from the
Districts) will play each other.
The season culminates with a
'County B' Team (players from North/South) taking on the County
Team. This provides a further opportunity for promising and
improving youngsters to catch the eye of the County Team
Managers.
County Squads are in place at
Under 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 with County Teams playing against
other Counties and taking part in tours/festivals during the
season.
Details of District and County
matches taking place during 2009 will be added to this site, and to
the main Cumbria
Cricket Board Site, as they become
available.
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