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Welsh
Cricket
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Cricket is very fortunate to have such a well organised and committed volunteer workforce however the wet weather in August was a hugely frustrating time for everyone involved in the game. Despite the weather Junior participation at cricket clubs in Wales increased by 7.5% on 2007 and there was plenty of other activity which is summarised below. Clubmark Accreditation We now have 44 clubs, Pontblyddyn, Newport, Pontarddulais, Bronwydd, Carmarthen Wanderers, Llantwit Major, Cowbridge, Haverfordwest, Pentyrch, Penarth, Croesyceiliog, Gowerton, Brymbo, Neath, Whitchurch Heath, Ebbw Vale, Ynystawe, Lisvane, Miskin, Whitland, Prestatyn, Usk, Hawarden Park, Colwyn Bay, Cressely, Neyland, St Fagans, Rogerstone, Swansea, Cardiff, Connah's Quay, Ponthir, Panteg, Tondu, Sudbrook, Llanarth, Mumbles, Ynysygerwn, Port Talbot, Hook, Gorseinon, Malpas, Montgomery and Northop Hall who have achieved Clubmark accreditation. In recognition of the work required to achieve and maintain accreditation status there are now some tangible benefits available; access to ECB machinery and facility grants and the Cricket Foundations Chance to Shine scheme. Accreditation is open to any club with a junior section and those interested should contact their local CDO who will be happy to assist.
Chance to Shine
16 clubs linked with 58 local schools as part of our Chance to Shine scheme this year. Over 2000 hrs of curriculum and after schools coaching was delivered to more than 4600 boys and girls and all of the schools involved played a minimum of 5 games. The scheme helped Clubs attract 341 new members (235 boys and 106 girls) and we will extend the scheme to more clubs in 2009. U13 & U15 National Knock out Cups U13 Final Colwyn Bay, Mumbles, Carmarthen Wanderers and Pentyrch were winners of their respective groups to qualify for finals day. Unfortunately we were unable complete the competition on the day because of heavy overnight rain but managed to rearrange games and organise venues at short notice. Pentyrch were the eventual winners defeating Mumbles in the final. U15 Nationwide Cup Final Gowerton, Tondu and St Fagans won the South, East and West groups at U15 level to qualify for the finals day where a strong St Fagans side were comfortable winners. Unfortunately North Wales did not send on a winner this year. NatWest CricketForceSignificant private investment has been attracted by clubs involved in NatWest CricketForce projects. Lisvane’s project to regenerate the YMCA ground at St Mellons, Cardiff produced over £200k by way of donations and in kind contributions. The project also galvanized the club membership and any Club seeking to improve facilities or recruit volunteers should sign up for NatWest CricketForce in 2009.England and Wales Cricket Trust Machinery Fund Since the launch of the scheme in 2007 we have processed 37 machinery grant applications from individual Clubmark accredited clubs and our Groundsmans Associations. The grants have been used to purchase over £200k’s worth of machinery including outfield and pitch mowers, scarifiers, seeders, aerators and heavy rollers and we are hopeful more funds will be available again in 2009. Kwik Cricket We owe a huge thank you to the many volunteers who organise and coordinate the kwik cricket and provide opportunities for around 7000 boys and girls at 700 schools to take part during June and July. Special thanks to Robin Varley and Aberystwyth Cricket club and Peter Edwards at Glamorgan for coordinating and hosting our 2 county finals at Aberystwyth and the SWALEC Stadium. Ysgol Rhydypennau, Aberystwyth and Llantrisant primary were the winners of the 2 finals and went on to represent Wales at the UK final in Grace Road Leicester. Regional Cricket The weather caused havoc during August washing out the U11 & U15 finals (twice), our U10 festival at Aberystwyth and the last 2 days of the U14 festival in Cardiff. On a more positive note we played more zonal games in the U11 and U15 competition than in previous years and the U12 and U13 festivals in Swansea and Wrexham were blessed with dry weather. Gwent were winners of the U12 festival with Cardiff and Vale runners up and North East Wales won the U13’s with Cardiff and Vale again finishing as runners up. Rrepresentatives from each region met in Mid Wales on the 12th October to consider how our Regional Cricket could be improved in the future. This was a very constructive meeting and there were some excellent suggestions which we would hope to introduce in the 2010 season. National Squads 2008 was another successful season for our National sides who won 54 (76%) of the 71 games completed. Our U14, U15 and U16’s sides all reached the ECB finals and our U16’s (Lords Taverners sponsor the 16’s) and U14’s were crowned County Champions again although the 14’s will share the trophy with Essex as the final was washed out. The Girl’s also did extremely well with the U13’s reaching the semi final, U15’s finishing runners up in the final and the U17 Girls won the Taunton festival for the first time. Details of all of the squad results can be found on our website www.cbw.org.uk International Honours. Andrew Salter (Pembrokeshire and St Ishmaels CC) was selected to captain England U15’s after a successful Bunbury festival. Daniel Roberts (West Glam and Pontarddulais CC) and Gareth Thomas (Carmarthenshire and Carmarthen Wanderers CC) were selected for the England U16’s and Imran Hassan (Newport and Gwent) represented England at U17. Gwenan Davis (Clydach CC and West Glamorgan) was selected for the England Girls U19 Development squad Coach Education In 2008 we hosted a Level 3 course in Cardiff with delegates from Wales and 8 other European countries. Coach Education plays a pivotal role in the overall development of cricket within Wales and John Derrick has joined the CBW team as our Coach Education Coordinator. We will run a number of Level 1 and Level 2 courses and Coach Development workshops throughout the autumn/winter months of 2008/09 to expand and improve the existing coaching base.
Regards
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