U11 Girls County Indoor Training
County Cricket Board Update
“We in Essex Cricket Board have had the pleasure of obtaining the Cricket Factory twice this year. The first was at the launch of our disability league at Gidea park & Romford CC and the second at the Clacton air show.
At the launch day at Gidea Park & Romford the Cricket Factory was there to help us launch our disability league. We currently have 8 clubs with disability sections across Essex, players from these clubs were invited over to take part in our first ever formal league for people with disabilities. It was great for us to have the Cricket Factory in attendance at the event. The majority of the players we have in the league have learning disabilities, having the Factory there allowed them something to take part in while waiting for their games to start. Several have low attention spans so the Factory and its make up was ideal for those attending. The level needed for the skills is ideal for people with learning disabilities, the skills themselves can be challenging to a degree but at the same time simple to understand and get the hang of. It also provided a great chance for the siblings of those attending a chance to try out cricket skills during the day.
The 2nd event was the Clacton Air Show. The Factory was there to help us promote cricket in Essex. This was a very different event to that of the Disability league launch day but provided just as much for those who took part. The Air Show is a popular event with thousands travelling from all across Essex and further for the 2 days. Our hope was to introduce cricket to those who attended and provide suitable advice for those who were keen to get involved with the game. All those who took part, well over 500, seemed to enjoy the experience with several coming back again for another try to beat their first score. In was also noticeable that several made enquires about joining clubs and both the CDO’s in attendance were able to provide useful advice on how to join a suitable club.
We have also been fortunate enough to be given some equipment from the Cricket Factory. This is for general use for the board but it has been particularly useful to use at several disability sessions. One of the sessions contains adults with learning disabilities. The group is of mixed ability, some are able to join in team sport activities but several will just stay on the outside of a session. The equipment has been used to get these people involved. By setting up small catching and throwing drills using the equipment those who previously just sat around the session are now able to join in and get active. The level needed for the drills is ideal for those with limited understanding and poor co-ordination. We will continue to use the equipment at this session and hope to encourage other sessions to use this as much as possible.”
For more information please contact Patrick Ward at Essex County Cricket Board
Disability Cricket Competition
U11 Girls County Training
For further information please contact:
Essex Cricket Development
Office: 01245 154004
