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Gloucestershire Cricket Board quiz local clubs

24 August 2012

GCB quiz clubs over introduction of indoor youth leagues

After a rain-hit summer the Gloucestershire Cricket Board is looking to brighten up the winter months with the possibility of introducing indoor youth leagues.

A letter has been sent to all the county’s clubs gauging their interest in entering sides into competitions at under 11, 13, 15 and 17 age groups.

The idea has been raised as a result of the unprecedented number of matches that have been cancelled this year due to the weather. In Bristol the entire youth league had to be abandoned because of the amount of matches that were called off.  

Cricket development manager Steve Silk said: “It has been a frustrating season and junior cricket has perhaps been hardest hit of all with games being rained-off.

“One way in which we may be able to help is by offering cricket across more months of the calendar year with the introduction of junior indoor leagues.”

As well as trying to make up for the heavily disrupted season, the Board also hopes that the introduction of indoor competitions may help encourage young players to carry on playing the game.  

Steve said: “We have a drop off nationally at 15 years-of-age as not all clubs can provide access to U17 or senior cricket for all 15/16-year-olds. The hope is that by providing U17 and U15 indoor leagues, we may keep players interested throughout the year and therefore have a higher chance of retaining them for summer cricket.”

The Gloucestershire Cricket Board and its partners are already involved in running senior indoor leagues at a number of locations around the county including Cheltenham and Bristol.  

These have proved hugely popular, with the number of teams growing each year. As well as providing a great opportunity for clubs to stay together during the winter months Steve says indoor cricket can also help improve players at all levels of the game.

He said: “Cricketers will be sharper if they play more. Indoor cricket provides a great opportunity to sharpen skills, improve fielding and realise the importance of tactics. A number of clubs, after seeing what we offer at adult level, have enquired about the possibility of entering youth teams into a league -our answer to date has been ‘sorry we do not run any’….that is possibly  until now.”  

If your club would be interested in the possibility of entering a team at under 11, 13, 15 or 17 then please send an email to steve.silk@glosccc.co.uk.

For more information, contact:
Luke Sellers, GCB Communications Officer
communications@glosccc.co.uk or 07584 705646

About the Gloucestershire Cricket Board
The Gloucestershire Cricket Board is the governing body for cricket in Gloucestershire and the local delivery arm of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Gloucestershire Cricket Board works with clubs, schools and community groups to improve and increase cricket provision and competitive opportunities in Gloucestershire. It provides training and guidance in a range of areas including coach education; groundsmanship; and umpiring and scoring. Gloucestershire Cricket Board also runs high performance cricket in the county for both male and female cricketers.

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