YOUTH CRICKET: PRIMARY school children from villages around Biddestone competed in their own version of the Ashes at a kwik cricket tournament last week.

Five primary schools took part in the tournament hosted by Biddestone Cricket Club on Wednesday May 25 with St. Mary's School from Chippenham walking away victorious.

Around 85 children from By Brook Valley from Yatton Keynell, Stanton St Quintin, Kington St Michael and Kington Langley Schools were all invited to take part in the tournament.

The schools had received regular coaching from staff at Biddestone CC since Easter.

Biddestone CC's School Liaison Officer and level one coach, Philip Boore, said: "As part of a ECB scheme we were selected as a focus club and had to achieve a club mark.

"Both these mean that we had to make sure our standards of coaching and dealing with kids were of the highest performance thus encouraging kids to participate as much as we could offer them and at the highest standard.

"The focus club part was to do with the selected schools that we had at the tournament.

"We were given four schools to work with and we had to give them regular coaching and encourage them to play cricket as much as we could.

"With help from other school staff the pupils have improved very quickly with their basic hand and eye co-ordination and some of them have the potential to make very good male and female cricketers.

"This tournament was a chance to compare and bring all the schools that Biddestone Cricket Club have been working with and give them the chance to participate against each other and learn from a competitive situation."

Boore said the competition was a massive success and said the club would be looking to host another next year.

"There was some great catches going off. The pitches were small so that led to lots of sixes and catches.

"The children were walking off saying 'I made 20 runs, hit two sixes and made a catch'.

"It was surprisingly good weather as well. It was not too hot which is good for the youngsters when they are running around."

Unlike some kwik cricket where youngsters must run if they hit the ball each pair had two overs that meant they could lash out and play some extravagant shots.

Boore said: "The coordination of the kids from when I first taught them in Easter was miles better.

"They were catching the ball above their heads and making diving catches as well. One young lad also hit four sixes one after another."

Eight teams were split into two groups with St. Mary's A defeating By Brook B in the final by 36 runs.

"There was a little medallion for the winners and sweets for the runners up.

"There's little things we can work on for next time but it was a big success considering it was the first time the club has held the event.

"Next season we are hoping to progress into a secondary school and do coaching there as well.

"We will definitely keep the four schools we have coached in this year and hopefully we will be able to increase the hours we can give to them."

PE Coordinator from St. Mary's School, Diane Riley, said she was pleased with the performance of her two teams.

"It was quite a long evening but played in good sportsmanship and all the children enjoyed it.

"We were playing against schools we don't usually play against so it was nice for the schools to get together.

"The children also mixed well and played in good humour and it sets us up well for the district championship on June 10."