With the PM’s announcement last week, we now believe grass roots sports will re-start shortly, albeit the exact timings and precise rules for cricket has yet to be flowed down. Unfortunately, the indoor sessions weren’t possible due to the National Lockdown but it is our intention to provide even more opportunities for players, both girls and boys, of all ages and abilities to play in games and tournaments this summer to discover / rediscover their love for cricket.
Summer Coaching 2021
We are hoping, outdoor coaching will be able to start on Friday 16th April at 6pm, with the ECB-run programmes starting a little later on Friday 7 May. To avoid mass gatherings at Registration, we are changing our signing on and payment methods to do this online (see below for details). We are also looking at removing cars from Culver Close with the possibility of parking on Victory Field, thus increasing the amount of green space available for training and parents whilst still observing Covid recommended practices.
Age group details as follows:
ECB All Stars (5-8 year olds)
This is an 8 week course with an intra-club Tournament held at the end of the programme. The programme is anticipated to start o Fridays from 7 May. Details will be confirmed in the early spring and the club will contact parents when the ECB open the registration to the 2021 programme.
ECB Dynamos (8 to 11 year olds)
In 2020, the ECB launched this programme to follow on from All Stars but was cancelled due to Covid-19. It is designed to provide an introduction to game play through soft ball games. This will be an 8 week course booked through the ECB run on Friday evenings. There will be opportunities to represent the Club at Kwik Cricket Festival (Sunday mornings) against other local teams throughout the summer with BoA hosting its own Festival on Sunday 6th June. Once players are ready to move on to play hard ball (are cricket confident, possess basic skills and have some match experience) they will able to join the under 11s. If you believe your child is ready for the u11s, before signing up for Dynamos, please contact Paul Vooght to discuss the options.
Under 11s (Typically School years 5 to 6)
This year we again are intending to run two teams in the Bath League playing 8-aside pairs hard ball (mixed) cricket. These matches are played on a Monday night throughout the season starting late April. It may be that we are able to create an ‘all girls’ team at u11s if we attract a 2-3 more girls at that age group. We are exploring joining the Wilts Youth Cricket League which play 11-a-side games on Sunday mornings. The u11s will be led by Paul Vooght and training will be on Fridays.
Under 13s (School years 7 to 8)
This year for the first time we are intending to run two teams in the Bath League. After further consideration we have decided to enter two teams in the 8 aside pairs league as we feel this will maximise involvement for all players. These matches are played on Tuesday nights. We are also exploring joining the Wilts Youth Cricket League which play 11-a-side games on Sunday afternoons. The u13s will be led by Matt Harrington also on Fridays.
Under 15s (School years 9 to 10)
It is expected that the u15s will also train on Fridays for the 2021 season. The u15s will be led by James Pike.
Girls & Womens cricket
We are also searching for a ladies cricket coordinator and are keen to develop this side of the club. If you are interested in either playing or helping to drive this forward with us, please contact James Pike. Please remember that girls are eligible for their own age group and can play in mixed cricket matches two school years down. For example if you are in year 10 you can play in the under 13s mixed team, Yr 8 can play u11s mixed cricket, etc. If in doubt please contact either Paul or James.
Child Welfare officer
Our Child Welfare office is Sally Bird who can be contacted if needed via coombesscoombes@aol.com.
Becoming a member
This year we’re asking parents to sign up and complete the PDF membership form (attached) at home and send your completed form to Paul Vooght (pandkvooght@sky.com). This will give us a better idea of numbers allowing us to plan accordingly. The payment system has been changed to either monthly payments of £20 from April or one single payment of £75. In setting the amount we have looked back over previous summers and worked out how often sessions and matches are affected by bad weather and have attempted to factor that in to our pricing consideration. We will monitor how this works and review it at the end of the season.
Thank you for your time and if you have any questions please make contact.