Junior cricket on a winning wicket

TWO of the biggest and longest-running junior cricket carnivals in the country are set to make the Northern Rivers the epicentre of junior cricket this January.

Lismore Under 12 Cricket Carnival has been running for over 40 years and is on from January 6-9, and the LJ Hooker Ballina Under 13 Cricket Carnival, which started more than 35 years ago, is on from January 6-10.

Both carnivals will welcome teams from as far afield as Sydney and Brisbane to play against Far North Coast teams.

Geoff Jacobs, an organiser of the Ballina carnival, said it was a popular carnival, that brought visitors to the town.

“There’s around 200 players, and lots of kids coming with their parents, so it’s a boon for the local economy,” he said.

The four turf wickets were also an attraction, as most fields now have synthetic wickets.

“Turf’s just a bit different. The ball does different things, and batsmen have to adapt to it,” Jacobs said.

The Lismore carnival was also set to bring hundreds of people to the region.

Barry Cooper, one of the event organisers, said it had gained a great reputation over 40 years for being a welcoming event that supported juniors.

A long list of cricket stars played in the carnival in the early days of their careers, such as David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and homegrown talent Matthew Phelps, Ben Cooper, Tom Cooper, and Grace Parsons.

Barry Cooper said it was exciting to think the next stars of cricket might be revealed at the carnival.

“You can look back over the history of the event and see who has gone on the represent Australia. Every year we see the next new talent coming through. That’s the exciting part of it,” he said.

“While not many players will go on to play for Australia, many will remember playing in this tournament as part of their initiation into representative cricket.”

The competition will have a different format this year.

After three rounds, the sixteen teams will be divided into a Championship and Plate rounds to ensure players stay engaged in the competition.

“We’ll give it a go, and see whether people like it,” Cooper said.

The two carnivals were set to make the Northern Rivers the epicentre of junior cricket for that week, he said.

“It’s good for our area, and good for the economy.”