Tri-Service

Forces Women Win Over Kwik Cricket Kids

It was the Army who rightly made the headlines at this weekend's Inter Services Twenty20 cricket tournament, at Lord’s Cricket Ground in St. John’s Wood, but doing their best to steal the show were numerous local schoolchildren, whose enthusiastic backing of the teams was heard load and clear throughout the day.

The competition, which began in 2005 at Aldershot Army Cricket Ground, has been hosted for the last six years at the world’s most famous cricket club, the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club). The reputation of both the MCC and Lord’s itself means the tournament is incredibly special both to the servicemen involved and the spectators.

2014 had seen the first ever match played by a female inter services team, to mark the bicentenary celebration of Lord’s, but sadly this was not repeated despite calls for it to be an annual occurrence. Instead the female athletes who had played last year were brought back to act as “Kwik Cricket” mentors.

Kwik cricket is an amended, high-speed version the game. Aimed mainly at encouraging children to participate, it's an introduction to cricket which encourages fair play by all. A total of 85 excited children from two different schools had been invited to Lord’s cricket ground, eager to get involved with the action.

The activity was great success, with children and teachers expressing gratitude for the opportunity to take part in a sports activity at a world-renowned cricket venue. Teacher Lisa Daily, of St. Saviour’s Church of England Primary School, said that the children had been looking forward to the event for some time, fully understanding the gravitas of where they were playing.

Kwik Cricket

Organiser of the children’s experience, Darren Clough of St. Edward’s Primary School said it’s “crucial to get schools involved in events like this and has enabled St. Edwards school to take part in an opportunity they haven’t previously had”. Working closely with Lord’s to facilitate the experience; Mr Clough was elated to bring the children to the well-respected venue and said it has enabled him to “combine his passion for child education with his passion for cricket”.

A number of children from St. Saviour’s Church of England School have parents based in the Armed Forces and the children who attended are currently learning about the First and Second World Wars at school. Miss Daily believes that this has enabled the children to gain an understanding of the importance of the servicemen and women of the Armed Forces. She went on to state that this made this event “particularly special”, by incorporating both sport and history.

Similarly St. Edwards School has done a great deal of preparation work with the 57 children who participated, encouraging them to learn more about the workings of the Armed Forces, which will be followed up in the next week by post-event classwork. The activity created a summertime buzz around the stadium and teachers felt it had been a fresh change for the class-based learning the children usually experienced.

The kwik-cricketers were active supporters of the games, each of them chanting loudly for certain teams throughout the day. The Army however, managed to win over the backing of the young cricketers - with their four-wicket victory over the RAF in the last match cheered on enthusiastically by the school pupils. Their success means the Army have managed to retain the title they have secured for the past two years.

A day of sun and sport had effectively involved supporters of all ages and managed to successfully add an educational touch as well.