Kids Go Kwik Cricket Crazy

Many a professional game of cricket has been played at Durham County Cricket Ground, in the shadows of Lumley Castle.

This weekend however, saw a younger generation of cricketers competing with just as much passion and enthusiasm, in the shadows of Bamburgh Castle.

On Sunday over 100 children from around Northumberland converged on the village cricket pitch to take part in a major kwik cricket festival.

For once, the sun shone and the skies were blue, as children from as far a field as Hexham, Wooler, Bedlington and Stocksfield competed in the tournament.

Kwik Cricket is the fun way of getting into the sport and a way of developing cricket skills at an early age. It’s played by children aged 11 and under and is a simplified version of the adult game using plastic bats and balls and customized rules.

Steve Paige, the Sports Development Manager with Leisure Alnwick helped to organize the event and was on hand throughout the day to oversee proceedings.

Steve said “we had an excellent day and hopefully many of the youngsters will continue to play cricket with local clubs for many years to come. The emphasis of the event was very much on taking part, team sprit and enjoyment.

“We had a fantastic festival atmosphere which really added to the fun and there were experienced coaches and enthusiastic parents on hand to guide the children through the day.”

The tournament was sponsored and supported by Northumberland Sport as part of its Get Active Northumberland campaign. Next month Northumberland Sport will be hosting a FREE Sport and Activity Fun Day to show people across the County new and exciting ways of getting active and keeping fit. A wide range of activities will be laid on to give people of all ages the opportunity to have a go. There will be a climbing wall, pole vaulting, a mobile gym, kite flying, frisbee, water sports, dance performances, tennis, health walks and much more.