Saturday mornings are generally a sleepy affair for LBCC, with preparations going on for senior cricket matches in the afternoon. Not in 2021. This year saw 38 children descend on Tugmutton Common. The aim: cricket and fun!

For the Club, it was the first time it has provided cricket for this age group. For me, this was a big step in leading sessions, bringing people together and getting to grips with All Stars. For the children and parents, it was their first experience of Locksbottom CC. There was a lot to get right!

Due to the completion of the Pitch Project, we were able to use the much smoother outfield to run the session on. Previously a ball bouncing on the surface could have gone anywhere. It has been so important to have a surface where a ball can bounce consistently else the children would have had too much difficulty hitting and stopping the ball. It could also be nightmare when bowling at the stumps!

I had great support from LBCC. Abigail Cutting and Pulkit Verma trained with me to be Activators, becoming prepared to deliver the sessions. Bhoomika Bhat and Ewan Mason joined us at the sessions bringing enthusiasm and being some very important role models to the kids. Everyone from involved from LBCC is a volunteer so a massive thanks to these guys for giving up their time and energy to make a difference.

We were lucky to have super engagement from the parents during the sessions. This really brought the games to life. The standout favourite game was ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and BALL!’, which I know was played in many homes in between sessions!

The All Stars developed rapidly, learning the basics required for the game. For batting they practiced hitting a moving ball, trying to aim their shots and seeing how far they could hit it! When bowling they focused on straight arms and accuracy, aiming at targets on the ground, stumps and sometimes their adult helpers(!). And they all loved the fielding games: catching, stopping and throwing. The children really engaged with listening and working as a team to complete challenges in the sessions. We tried our best to group children by age and ability so they could grow together. All of our All Stars pushed themselves in their own ways to improve.

Feedback has been heartwarming and I didn’t realise it’d bring so much happiness:

“I came round the clubhouse and was hit by a real buzz from the children” – JM

“It’s great to see the park being used for organised sessions” – Anon.

“The kids had a wonderful time and were always looking forward to Saturdays, I would like to thanks David, Abi & Pulkit for instilling an interest in cricket and teaching them the basics of the game in a very friendly and fun loving environment. We are also looking forward to more such sessions at Locksbottom club” – Parent

“The children were always smiling before and after the sessions. It was very nice to see the kids playing and learning Cricket. I hope they made lots of new friends and would love to see them come back next year.” - PV

This all comes with a huge amount of momentum into the Summer of 2022. We will look to accompany the All Stars sessions with Dynamos cricket which is for 8-11-year-olds.

For those involved, we will be in contact with more details regarding the social in August. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Thanks to Yusuf for a great drawing of the All Stars logo too!