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Under 9s Taste Softball Success…

Under 9s Taste Softball Success…

David Thompson26 May 2023 - 05:03
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…at Eppleton Cricket Club’s Tournament!

Softball cricket is a vital building block towards hardball cricket. The Junior Section of Hartlepool Cricket Club continues to be extremely supportive of softball cricket, ie. as part of its cricket provision for the Monkeys and its Under 9s. This includes playing friendly matches under the auspices of the North Yorkshire Area Cricket Council and the Durham Cricket Board Junior League.

On Sunday, 21st May, 2023 the Under 9s played their first “DCBJL” match with a short trip North to Seaham Park Cricket Club. Ted Turnbull, Isaac Hicks, Fraser Bradwell, Harry Liddell, Hugo Allen and Billy Gibbons played in the three matches that were played against “the Park”. Some excellent cricket was played against fine hosts. Hopefully, a return fixture will be arranged for later in the season.

Later on the Sunday afternoon a different Under 9s team was fielded as we played in Eppleton Cricket Club’s Under 9s Softball Tournament. As on the Sunday morning, the weather was fantastic, with blue skies the order of the day! Although it was a long afternoon of cricket, Issac Richardson, Toby Cooke, Logan Bullock, Preston Goodwin, William Gray and Mason Taylor all played some exceptional cricket, applying their batting, bowling and fielding skills! The team played a total of seven matches, winning all of their games to ultimately win a thrilling Final against an excellent Whitburn team. The Final could have gone either way, with Preston hitting boundaries to help us seal a victory!

David JB Thompson, (Chair and Lead Coach for the Under 9s said), : “It was great that our Under 9s could play cricket at both Seaham Park and Eppleton on Sunday. Softball cricket provides an excellent opportunity for our young cricketers to apply their skills in competitive matches. It’s a great learning experience for them. Thanks to those parents who provided assistance and support at Seaham and Eppleton. Playing seven matches at Eppleton was a tough ask. However, each player contributed to the tournament win. I was really impressed by our batting, bowling and fielding. There were loads of boundaries hit, wickets taken and catches held. Issac, who captained the side, took an unbelievable “worldly” one handed catch in the Semi-Final that Ben Stokes would have been proud of! It was a great team effort. The players should be extremely proud of their achievements! Many thanks to Eppleton Cricket Club for hosting an excellent tournament. Fingers crossed, our very own Under 9s softball tournament, which was originally planned for 8th May, 2023, will go ahead sometime in June, 2023! Please keep your eyes peeled for further details”.

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