Teams enjoy U10s cricket festival

Eight teams took part in the Rainhill CC festival

The Rainhill CC Girls U10s Cricket Festival, held at Victoria Terrace on Sunday 12th September, attracted eight teams from across the North West.

The overcast skies and occasional showers did not dampen the mood and players from Rainhill, Bootle, Liverpool, Northern (two teams), Fleetwood Hesketh Foxes, Sefton Park and Phoenix played some fantastic cricket and enjoyed themselves in the process.

The Phoenix team was made up of players from Rainhill and Liverpool in spite of the players not having played together before, they produced some very good cricket and, as the day progressed, the team seemed to "gel".

The festival was a not a tournament as such, but a series of friendly games with every team playing four matches. That's not to say that the games themselves were not competitive - some of them were very close contests - but there was no knockout phase or overall winner.

While Rainhill's girls won all of their games and finish an outstanding season unbeaten, every team experienced some success. The quality of the cricket was good, especially considering that some players had only recently begun to become involved with the game, and there were some wonderful moments of skill including a low diving catch from a Sefton Park player that anyone would have been proud of, some brilliant run-outs and one bowler picking up a three-wicket maiden.

It was great to see sportsmanship in action. Not only were some teams offering some of their players as fielders for opponents, coaches were giving tips and support to opposition players.

After lunch the rain became heavy and it was decided that the last round of games would be cancelled, meaning all teams played three rather than four matches. It was an unfortunate end to a great event but in the circumstances there was no other option. At the presentation each team coach nominated a "player of the day" and a "magic moment".

Many thanks to everyone who helped make this event happen, and of course all the players and coaches for making it what it was.

Photographs of the event can be found here, or can be browsed below. We are happy for clubs and families of the players to download these for club or personal use.