Youth cricket
Raby Castle Cricket Club Junior Section has started its weekly indoor training and coaching sessions.
The sessions are taking place at Barnard Castle School Sports Hall on Tuesdays, from 6pm to 8pm.
Coaching for the U9, U11, and U11 girls run from 6pm to 7pm, and the U13 and U15s from 7pm to 8pm.
Because of numbers and to ensure coaching of the U9s takes place in a safe environment away from hard ball training, the club has also hired the school squash courts.
Juniors co-ordinator Scott Hedley has arranged the services of local cricketers and cricket coaches John Clark (Richmondshire) and Josh Bousfield (Barney) who work for ML Sports and Fitness based in Richmond to run the sessions with the support of Raby’s own trained coaches.
Scott said: “During the last two weeks we have had more than 50 children attending our indoor sessions.
“That is a fantastic turnout and goes to show the appetite our players have in wanting to play cricket throughout the year.”
The sessions continue until early December with a two-week break for half term. The dates are: October17, November 7, 14, 21 and 28, and December 5.
Club secretary Steve Caygill said: “A huge thank you goes to Barnard Castle School for allowing us the use of their facilities. The hire of the additional school facilities and the two coaches for two hours is a massive financial commitment for a small village cricket club like ours, and the weekly cost is nearly £200.
“That said, it’s money well spent, as our aim is to introduce new players to the game and to the club, while also improving the technique and skills of the players we have.
“We have again received fantastic support from County Durham Community Foundation and this year we received £850 from the Culture and Sport Small Grants Scheme to help us pay for and subsidise these indoor sessions.”
The hour long sessions cost £3 a child. Anyone interested should contact Steve Caygill on 07708 220426 or email via the Raby Castle Cricket Club website.
n The annual general meeting takes place in the Wheatsheaf Inn, Staindrop, on Wednesday November 15. Contact Steve Caygill on 07708 220426 for details.
