The league season is now well under way with nominally four match weekends already accounted for. In true SCC fashion our start has been the usual curate’s egg with some wins, some losses, one game conceded and variable availability. The weather has been glorious necessitating a lot of square watering, but the beginning of Flaming June has reminded us that we still live in England not the south of France.
Highlights for the 1’s have been two good wins and an epic close defeat at Southborough in the highest aggregate match run total in the league’s history. Ali Wood’s superb century deserved more than bonus points.
The 2’s have had a more eccentric start with a bye week, a loss concession, a resounding win over Bidborough featuring a Chris Pannell ton and a thrilling close loss to Flimwell where the batting fell a bit short of par. It has been great to see appearances from more of our home-grown young cricketers and the fact that they have looked comfortable in the league environment is a tribute to the coaching they have received within the Junior Cricket Section.
I am sure you are all as bored as I am with me banging the availability drum again, but it is so frustrating for Chris and his team to be understrength or indeed without a fixture because too few of our senior players are putting their hands up to play. From the match reports on Spond the games have been competitive and enjoyable so why would you choose to do something else instead?
I will leave my other hobby horses for another month and instead focus on my favoured subject of the Junior Cricket Section. Not only is it now feeding excellent young cricketers into the senior club, but it continues to provide the financial strength to meet our increasing cost burden and still permit judicious investment in our facilities. Of course, the main focus is to introduce young people to cricket and nurture their development in an enjoyable environment and this month’s report from Francis underscores that:
The Summer season started on 10 April, and we have now had 8 weekends of coaching without a single day lost to the weather and very few days when you couldn’t wear shorts.
Attendance at coaching sessions at all levels from 4-year-olds to 15-year-olds has been at record levels. Over the weekend of 16 May we had nearly 130 young cricketers being coached on the Rec.
The Under 11, Under 13A, Under 13B and Under 15 teams have started their seasons well. All four teams will be giving opportunities to play to all the players in the squad rather than selecting the strongest team for every game. This approach is fundamental to the way in which the Junior Cricket section is run.
There have been some excellent and exciting wins (12 needed of the last over – 4.64 and a win with two balls to spare) and some comprehensive defeats.
The most encouraging aspect of all the games, whatever the result, has been the discussion between coaches and players immediately after the match which has focused exclusively on how the team could have performed better and what might be done differently in future.
Francis Booth
Head of Junior Cricket
Today was supposed to be first game in the new LMS (Last Man Standing) mid-week competition but rain has thwarted that ambition.
If you are interested in playing, look out for the notification on Spond or contact Ben Harrison direct.
Regards
Mark
Speldhurst Cricket Club 