Kids cradled in cricket’s nursery
Dannevirke kids are headed to Napier breeding ground for top players
With a match against Rotorua scheduled for 1pm at Park Island in Napier, the Dannevirke Sports Club Junior Cricket Squad assembled by the Domain Playground Wednesday morning, January 19, for the trip north.
This squad made up of year 5-7 cricketers were making the annual pilgrimage to the Riverbend Camp tournament which has been running for a very long time. In fact it was 33 years to the day since Jeff Ward — the team's coach — played for the first time in the tournament at Napier.
It has been the nursery for many top cricketers nationwide and brings together the very best junior cricketers from around New Zealand for a series of six 30-over matches spread over four days.
Nearly all the youngsters playing P1 and P3 cricket for the Dannevirke Sports Club have attended this camp including the current crop featured in the P3 Black team report.
This year the squad is very young and expectations are not high. Coach Jeff Ward says it provides the opportunity for players to play against other than the local and Manawatu¯ players they meet each week. He said the experience is an eye-opener for them all.
Another benefit is the tournament gives players a chance to shine. Some have gained regional representative status from it.
The camp is so called because it is a live-in experience
which gives the team a chance to get to know each other and make long-lasting friendships with players from other regions. With the advice “keep bat and pad together,” the squad headed off knowing
Park Island in Napier will be pretty hot with temperatures in the 30s predicted but rain expected (yeah right!) for Thursday and Friday when two 30-over matches on each day were scheduled.