The youngest players in the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association have had lots of fun with a bat and ball in the Under 10’s competition.
North Sportsman’s, Gambier Central, Penola, Mil Lel and Mount Burr have all taken part in the grass-roots season which has been tailored to provide the best experience for youngsters to jump from the Woolworths Cricket Blast program into a competitive environment.
The mini series wraps up this weekend when Mount Burr and Mil Lel meet to have some fun underneath the Sunday afternoon sun.
Mount Burr coach Mark Wright said its been a pleasure bringing the game to many youngsters around the region.
“It’s been a great opportunity,” he said.
“We have a few kids who are already in Under 12 teams and some who have never played before which has been exciting to introduce them to the game.
“The great thing has been seeing youngsters enjoy the game and be aware of everything after watching a fair bit of cricket through the summer.”
Wright said the usually strict laws of cricket have been bent to create as encouraging environment as possible.
“We have shortened pitch length that is not defined, so we can move it forward and match to the level of bowling,” he said.
“To promote a bit more fun for the batters the boundaries are brought in, so if they get onto one hit it goes for four which gives them a boost.
“The other major change is how four overs are allowed per batting pair and if a wicket falls they just swap ends and do not have to walk off, so they get used to being in the middle and running between wickets.
‘Bowlers also get to bowl two overs each with a composite plastic ball to get the kids used to the feel and weight of a real one.”
Wright hopes the competition continues to go from strength to strength.
“It will be great to see the Under 10 competition continue to grow, but its more about making sure we have strong numbers to keep a continuing format.
“We have good numbers playing Under 12’s, but we do see a bit of a drop off in the older grades as other preferences and life outside of sport take over.
“So, the younger we get kids coming through, we hope to have more players embedded to playing cricket every summer which is the ultimate goal.”
