Richmondshire CC Under 11 Festival, Sunday 6th September

This is a couple of months away, but is worth mentioning now. The text below is pasted in from something I wrote six years ago when I looked after the under 11 team. We will be looking to provide some preparation at Friday evening training sessions. The majority of the current under 11 team will be leaving Primary School this year, so there will be plenty of places up for grabs in next year's under 11 team.

Players from all Primary School years up to and including year 6 are eligible to take part. This is an all-day mini tournament, involving six or eight teams of eight players. The expectation is that two or three of the teams will be from Richmondshire CC, with the remaining teams coming from invited clubs in the surrounding area.

For many of our Primary School age juniors, this cricket festival represents their first chance to play competitive cricket with overarm bowling and a hard ball. As this is quite a step up for some of them, this information sheet has been put together.

Tournament format

There will be two matches taking place at any one time, with initial matches taking place in a league format, followed by two semi-finals and a final. Matches will be 8 overs a side, therefore each match should be complete inside an hour.

Bowling

The pitch is 20 yards long and a junior size leather ball will be used. Every player on the fielding side except the wicketkeeper must bowl an over. The wicketkeeper may not bowl. The fielding captain decides which one of his bowlers bowls the last over of the innings. Except for the last over, which should be bowled by the team’s best bowler, balls which are “wides” or “no balls” do not have to be bowled again.

Batting

 Batsmen bat in pairs, each pair bats for 2 overs, regardless of how many wickets fall. At the start of the innings, the team has 200 runs. Every time a batsman is out, 5 runs is deducted from the team’s score, every time the team scores a run, a run is added to the team’s score.

Equipment required

The club is able to provide bats, gloves, helmets and batting pads. Male players need to have their own abdominal guard (box) and something to hold it in place, e.g. cricket briefs, athletic support or second pair of underpants. Batsmen and wicketkeepers must wear helmets.