Lancashire Cricket Foundation Delivers Exciting School Cricket Competitions Across Three Events
The Lancashire Cricket Foundation hosted several school cricket competitions before the summer holidays. Held across three separate events, the schools and LCF staff battled against some extreme weather, from 30-degree sunshine to heavy downpours to ensure over 600 pupils across Lancashire could take part in competitive match-play at the Finals.
The LCF Chance to Compete Year 7 (Mixed) Competition hosted 13 state secondary schools. On a scorching hot day, schools from across Lancashire took part in the competition and after a fantastic morning of group games, the afternoon was dedicated to the knock-out stages. The standard of the competition was very high but a strong Clitheroe Royal Grammar School were the victors having won every game they played.
Jake Martin from Rhyddings School, Oswaldtwistle said about the event, ‘we enjoyed the chance to play and compete against other schools in a friendly environment. The event was really well organised and the staff were incredibly supportive towards the pupils. An overall excellent day!’
The competition was hosted by Fives in Trafford and their impressive state of the art football facilities provided an ideal space to help inspire the players to continue their cricket playing journey. We also rolled out our brand new LCF branded 2G Flicx Pitches for each match. We split the Flicx pitches in half which enabled us to play games across eight pitches on a surface that provided realistic and consistent bounce, adding to the overall experience of the day. For more information on how your school/club can get hold of your very own branded Flicx Pitch, contact: Kate Costin (Marketing & General Manager) - kate@flicx.com
The following week, we hosted two Lancashire Cricket Foundation’s Dynamos Schools County Finals. The first event was the Mixed competition which hosted 26 primary schools. following some heavy rain leading up to the County Final (mixed), with a last minute venue change, Goals in Liverpool North hosted the event and ensured we did not cancel altogether. Thankfully, the heavy rain cleared just as the first games got underway. Following an action packed morning, each team played three games before presenting the leader board to the teams. The top eight teams progressed to the main Dynamos Schools knockout rounds and the next eight teams progressed to the Plate Competition.
Following close matches in the knockout rounds, it was St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Penwortham who pipped a strong St Michael’s CE Primary School, Bolton to win the final. In the plate final, St Jerome’ Catholic Primary school won taking home the third place medals
Jonathan Mills, Deputy Head Teacher at Egerton Primary Schools commented: ‘I was really impressed with the day. There was high quality umpiring by people who knew the rules, straightforward group and qualification process, how the competition was adapted to take place on AstroTurf and indoor cricket rules used, the fact that the competition could still go ahead despite the poor weather forecast and clear communication from the organisers from start to finish. The children loved that they got to the semi-final and only lost by two runs. Great job all round!’
The Girls County Finals was played just a couple of days later, and with slightly better weather forecast, Northern Cricket Club were able to host over 200 girls. After some initial mopping up to clear one or two puddles by the LCF staff, the games were underway by 10:30. Once again, some super competitive matches were played throughout the day. After a morning of action-paced group games, the afternoon provided close matches throughout the knock out stages.
The Final was played by Euxton Primrose Hill Primary School, Chorley and Longshaw Community Junior School, Blackburn. It was the latter school that were crowned champions on the day who overcoming a strong team to take the the trophy back to Blackburn. A strong St Michael’s CE Primary School, Bolton were the winners of the Plate competition taking home third place overall; a fantastic achievement for the Bolton-based school to have success in both the Mixed and Girls County Finals!
A huge thank you to all teachers who continue to support cricket within their schools, to the three venue hosts and to our funding partners Chance to Shine who enable us to provide even more amazing sporting experiences to children across the North West.
The Lancashire Cricket Foundation delivery team did a superb job to get all three competitions played in some challenging conditions to ensure even more state-school pupils experienced the highs and lows of playing competitive cricket. Here’s what some of the teachers had to say about the LCF team:
‘Well organised, top fun, not mad serious and a nice relaxed atmosphere, even in the rain’ - Dean Rush, St Paul's Constable Lee Primary School, Rawtenstall
‘It was fabulous, umpires ran the matches so well, knowing and explaining rules to the children’ - Mark Cheal, Moorside Primary School, Lancaster
‘It was brilliant and I can only hope we have the opportunity to do it again in the future’ - Jordan Whiffing, St. Jerome's Primary School
‘Loved it. Well done to the team and thankyou for everything’ - Andrew Kellington, Salesbury CE Primary School, Ribble Valley
‘Engaging and motivating umpires. Great rules and a fun atmosphere throughout’ – Lisa Kit, Longshaw Juniors, Blackburn