Bowled over by success!
DCB PERSUADES MORE WOMEN AND JUNIORS TO PLAY CRICKET
DURHAM Cricket Board goes into 2019 in a strong position to further develop junior, girls and women’s cricket across the county.
In 2018 the DCB expanded its women’s pathway at all levels – from participation to performance - and attracted nearly 2,500 five to eightyear-olds to local clubs.
It also delivered school coaching in partnership with the national cricket charity Chance to Shine to more than 16,000 pupils in Durham at 104 primary schools and through inter-school competitions.
Chance to Shine delivery was key for the promotion of All-Stars Cricket and younger pupils took up the sport with more than 50% of signups to the ECB’s entry-level programme in Durham resulting from school engagement.
Durham’s delivery model was nationally recognised, Durham being named County Board of the Year at Chance to Shine’s annual awards.
Nearly 2,500 five to eight-year-old boys and girls took part in All-Stars Cricket in Durham during last summer - more than double the amount of the previous year.
The eight-week programme, aimed at bringing younger children into the game, was delivered in 62 cricket clubs in the county, 20 more than in 2017 - giving youngsters a great first experience in cricket.
The campaign delivered in Durham was the sixth most well-performing All Stars Cricket campaign nationally in terms of overall number of participants and fourth for the average number of children signing up to programmes.
It proved especially successful with girls, every one in four participants in Durham being a girl.
The six per cent growth of girls signing up from last year contributed to Durham ranking fourth nationally on percentage breakdown of girls.
For the first time, the DCB was in a position to deliver a comprehensive women’s and girls’ campaign across the county to support every level of the game.
It organised its Ladies Days for a second season running, looking to create more competition for girls’ teams while also attracting new women into the game.
The events involved competitive girls’ and women’s softball festivals, offering opportunities to women to give cricket a go.
These were held at 12 local cricket clubs, attracting 659 unique participants.
Durham’s Women’s T20 League was fully revamped following a poor 2017 season when only one game was played.
In 2018, 52 games went ahead resulting in more practice and competition for players at club and county level.
Philadelphia CCC were the winners of the league ahead of Leadgate and Shotley Bridge.
A new women’s cricket tournament, the Super 4s, was launched to strengthen the women’s pathway in Durham and bridge the gap between the T20 League and the performance level in Durham, represented by the DCCC Women’s Academy side the Northern Jets.
The Super 4s is the first non-clubbased competition in the north and saw four teams, comprising the best female cricketers in the north of the country, showcase the highest level of women’s grassroots cricket the region has to offer.
At senior level, Durham Women finished their season with promotion to Division Two in the ECB Women’s County Championship.
■ IN the Durham Under-19 Club T20 Tournament, Sacriston defeated Richmondshire in the final at Emirates Riverside - by five wickets with one ball to spare.
■ SIXTEEN junior clubs from the Northumberland Tyneside Cricket League - a league formed from the merger of the Northumberland Tyneside Senior League and the Northumberland Cricket League joined the DCB Junior League to form a fifth division known as the Tyneside Division.
The league also introduced an under-nine format for the first time to create a link between All Stars Cricket and under-11 club cricket.