Junior cricketers are being invited to free taster sessions in a campaign to encourage more young players at a local club.
Part of the fun at the Hurst Cricket Club tasters on Friday, April 28, will be a barbecue for the parents and their youngsters. The club bar will be open as well.
In past summers, Friday evenings at the club have been a social and cricketing highlight of the week for many families and other supporters.
Boys and girls are welcome on at the sessions for under 9s and under 11s between 5.45pm and 7pm, and for under 13s and under 15s between 7pm and 8.15pm.
Cricket club chairman Martin Garrard said Rob Dewey, who managed the under 9s team last year, had stepped up to organise the junior section, after previous coaches had to withdraw, the first because he moved to New Zealand, and his replacement due to work commitments.
“Rob offered to reignite the [junior section]. We’re getting a lot of interest from people in Hurst and the surrounding area. The junior players are the bedrock for the future of the game. They are very important for us,” said Mr Garrard.
Mr Dewey is working with an enthusiastic group of people who, like him, are parents of young cricketers. He said: “We have teamed up with a professional coaching company Pure Cricket, they are providing coaches.”
Parents have been on an England Cricket Board training session, organised through Berkshire Cricket at Wokingham Cricket Club, to learn how to support the coaches.
“We’ve started afresh. Twenty parents have met up to volunteer, get stuck in and make a go of it,” added Mr Dewey.
“To join the juniors you don’t need experience of cricket. The ethos is very much to get kids active, playing and having some fun. We welcome people from nearby and further away. It’s a welcoming environment here.
”We’re delighted to have found a main sponsor for the juniors, Richard Boyden, of Hurst, who runs his exteriors cleaning business, Richard of Hurst. We’d love to hear from other sponsors.”
To register for the tasters go to: https://forms.gle/QinDd5Sz89Ht6StF6
There’s also cricket at Hurst for five to eight-year-olds under the English Cricket Board All-Stars scheme. Run by Catherine Pearce of Hurst for the past four years, the course will start on May 8 on Fridays at 5pm for eight weeks. Children registering for All Stars receive a backpack including a cricket bat, cricket ball and a T-shirt with the child’s name on it.
To register visit: https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/all-stars
Hurst Cricket Club, started in 1861, is also seeking some senior players. The first team finished second in the Thames Valley Division II last year. “That was very good,” said Mr Garrard.
The club has more than 25 players for the first team. They would be pleased to hear from all potential players, though the second team has a particular need for more.
Details are at: https://hurst.play-cricket.com/Aboutus
