FUTURE stars of the game were on show with the Far North Coast region hosting two of the longest-running cricket carnivals in the country.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of kids played in the Lismore Under-12 cricket carnival and the LJ Hooker Under-13 Ballina cricket carnival this month.<\/p>\n
The Far North Coast is a hub for junior carnivals in January with both having run for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n
Plenty of cricketers have gone on to play first class and in the Australian test and one-day teams.<\/p>\n
Test players Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Starc played at the Lismore carnival when they were kids.<\/p>\n
It is believed to be the longest-running of its kind in the country.<\/p>\n
About 36 teams from across NSW and Queensland took part in the carnivals this year.<\/p>\n
Players from Ballina, Byron Bay, Casino, Lismore and Tweed districts made up the Far North Coast Thunder and Sixers teams.<\/p>\n
Thunder were one of the top performing teams at the LJ Hooker Ballina under-13 cricket carnival.<\/p>\n
They were unlucky not to play in the division one final having gone through the carnival undefeated, only missing out on quotients.<\/p>\n
It played in the division two final against Brisbane North where they went down by four wickets after scoring 111 runs.<\/p>\n
Coach Nathan Pollock said he was impressed with how the team performed on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n
“They had a really good week and it’s great they get to challenge themselves against kids from outside the region,” Pollock said.<\/p>\n
“We had a tie in our first game and that was probably the only reason we missed out on the final.<\/p>\n
“That was against North Shore who are always really successful, so the boys should be really proud of their efforts.”<\/p>\n
North Shore went on to win the carnival when it defeated Manly in the final.<\/p>\n
Top performing players for Thunder included Oscar Skelly and Tom Hunt who scored half centuries at the carnival.<\/p>\n
Hunt backed his effort up with another half century and a five wicket-haul in a match against the Brisbane Bears.<\/p>\n
“Everyone in the team really contributed, we had a few injuries, the boys pushed on through that,” Pollock said.<\/p>\n
“They were really respectful to all the other teams and umpires too, which was really pleasing.”<\/p>\n
In the Lismore under-12 carnival, Parramatta Blue defeated Manly in the final.<\/p>\n
Thunder also performed well there, topping its pool after three days of competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FUTURE stars of the game were on show with the Far North Coast region hosting two of the longest-running cricket carnivals in the country. Hundreds of kids played in the Lismore Under-12 cricket carnival and the LJ Hooker Under-13 Ballina cricket carnival this month. The Far North Coast is a hub for junior carnivals in […]<\/p>\n