Youth cricket programmes could extend into the summer

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2: Bermuda’s youth cricket leagues are expecting another successful year.

With sponsors BF&M and Hiscox back, and Tokio joining the team, the Bermuda Cricket Board expects to go from strength to strength.

There are about 750 children playing on approximately 45 teams.

Neil Speight, BCB administrator, said: “We just completed our peewee programme, which is five, six and seven year olds which is at Berkeley.

Speight said the Under-8s “has been growing and we’re very happy having Tokio come on board”.

He said the Under-11s is the most popular league because both schools and clubs are in it. Hiscox has continued to support it, which is fabulous.”

He said one of the most popular events of the youth cricket season is the Hiscos Celebrity All-star game, which this season will be on July 7.

“This game is always a lot of fun and the kids enjoy it.”

Competitive

For the under 8s and Unders 11s the emphasis is having fun and giving the youth something constructive to do.

Speight said: “It gets more competitive at the Under-14 and Under-17 level and some of the Under-17s actually play at the senior level.”

He said the Board is toying with the idea of creating more opportunities for the children to play on in the summer.

“We’re hoping this year to extend some of these programmes into the summer, which traditionally has been very difficult to get participants. We’re going to try to engage people during July and August when people typically go away for holidays.”

He said a combination of having enough children willing to play, enough adults to help teach and enough school fields to use has been the downfall in the past in making this happen.

“We are wrestling with this because there are children who do want to play and we want to help them do that. We just want to provide the best pathway to help them do that.”