Nottinghamshire Recreational Cricket

After 52 competitions at 23 festivals over 5 weeks the qualifiers for the 4 Kwik Cricket County Finals days were decided. A total of 2,771 pupils entered as part of one of the 261 teams that came from 113 schools; a record 800 girls took part in the various competitions this year.

Thursday 9 July at Lady Bay Sports Ground saw the first of this year's Kwik cricket county finals days for Nottinghamshire schools. After a day of action, including some big hits and lots of wickets – including a match winning four wicket maiden in a group game from Woodborough Woods Foundation’s Freddie McCann – the two teams to qualify for the county final were Dunkirk Primary School and Woodborough Woods Foundation.

In what was expected to be a close final Dunkirk batted first and finished on 269 after their 8 overs. In defending this total, Dunkirk bowled magnificently, consistently pegging back Woods Foundations’ score with wickets, taking 14 in total, which is a massive 70 runs taken away from the batting teams score.

These regular wickets ultimately led to Woodborough Woods finishing on a total of 155. A 114 run win for Dunkirk and the biggest winning margin in any game on the day. Congratulations to this years’ Year 6 Kwik Cricket County Champions – Dunkirk Primary School and thank you to the other 17 teams that took part on the day.

Tuesday 14 July saw the second of the finals days and the girls’ competition where once again the standards were exceptionally high. The two teams that qualified for the final were both in the same group during the morning. In the morning Oaktree Primary School beat Barnby Road Primary School, and in the final, it was no different.

Oaktree batted first and accumulated steadily without losing many wickets leading to a total of 249 of their 8 overs. In response Barnby Road hit more boundaries than their opponents but unfortunately lost more wickets, leading to a final score of 223 and a 26 run victory for Oaktree Primary School girls. Thanks to all the other 16 teams that took part in the day.

For any girls who want to move forward from the day and take part in more regular cricket, have a look at this list of local clubs and see if there’s a club for you http://www.nottscricket.co.uk/development/women-and-girls.html

The final day of County Finals took place on Thursday 16 July and consisted of both the year 4 competition and the year 5 competition.

In the year 4 tournament, 13 teams entered and after a good days cricket, the final was between Bramcote Hills and Radcliffe on Trent. Bramcote Hills batted first and accumulated a steady score of 244. In reply however, Radcliffe on Trent built steadily and were tied with Bramcote Hills going into the last over. Losing wickets would lose them the game, scoring runs would win them the game.

The last pair for Radcliffe on Trent scored 3 boundaries in the final over and left them on a score of 258 to win the match, making a close game seem less close than it ultimately was.

In the year 5s there was a bigger field of 16 teams and the competition was wide open with good wins in the group stages for several teams. In the semi-finals Heymann Primary beat Woodborough Woods Foundation and Fernwood beat Jesse Gray. In the final, Fernwood batted first and scored a steady 246. In response Heymann, never really got close enough and finished on 215. Nevertheless a good performance throughout the day by both sides.

After 3 finals days, four winners have been decided and they are: In Year 4 – Radcliffe on Trent Primary School; in Year 5 – Fernwood Primary School; in Year 6 Dunkirk – Primary School; and in the Girls competition – Oak Tree Primary School.

For any young cricketers who want to move forward from the day and take part in more regular cricket, have a look at our list of local clubs and see if there’s a club for you http://www.nottscricket.co.uk/development/clubmark.html