Change in age restriction to help grow junior cricket

LISMORE District Cricket Association has made changes to age restrictions in hopes of attracting more kids to its Northern Rivers junior competition.

It means players born after September 1 will now be able to play in what was previously a younger group.

“Traditionally you might have had two best mates who were in Year 6 that weren’t able to play in the same team,” Lismore District junior coordinator Barry Cooper said.

“Our motto for the competition is ‘Cricket’s great when you play with your mates’ and having that change helps keep kids in the same year at school together.”

Other changes this year will see the addition of three girls’ teams across the under-10 and under-14 competitions.

The under-10s will play under the Norths banner, with the club fielding junior teams for the first time in a few years.

Games will be played in the Twenty20 format with under-16s playing some longer 40-over games on turf wickets “We’ve gone from 32 to 55 players in under-16s, which is quite pleasing because that’s often the age where you struggle to keep them,” Cooper said.

“The schools have helped drive female participation; we’re making small gains across the board that hopefully make a difference in the years to come for the boys and girls,” Games will be played on Wednesday and Friday for under-10s through to under-16s with Mortimer Oval the main base.

Woolworths have come on board with a half price discount to help run barbeques after games.

Junior Blast is also back for kids between the age of five and eight and will be held at the Lismore tennis courts.

The season will start on Wednesday, October 22 with new players encouraged to join one of the four Lismore clubs.

Contacts and club information can be found at playhq.com or the Northern Rivers Junior Cricket Facebook page.