Abingdon Vale Cricket Club has a thriving junior section, with over a hundred members.
We currently have one side at under ten that plays in softball Kwik Cricket festivals across the district. Due to numbers, this may well enlarge to two or even three sides. At under 11 level we have one side that plays in the Oxfordshire U11 league and one developing side that plays friendly fixtures across the county. The under 11 teams play 8 a side pairs cricket, where each pair bat for four over and lose six runs for a loss of a wicket. The under 11's train on a Saturday morning 9.15am-11.30am at AVCC, and the games are played on midweek evenings (6pm start).
For the under 13's, we have entered three competitions. We have a 20 overs per side (11 a side) league side, a similar side that plays in the Ron Maudsley Knock Out Cup, or Plate competition and a side that plays in the 8 a side pairs cricket team. The eight a side team is a developing team and plays the same format as the under elevens, but lose eight runs for every wicket lost rather than six. The under 13's train on a Thursday evening 6pm-8pm (later in high summer) and play their fixtures on Sunday mornings (10am start).
The under fifteens play solely 20 over/11 per side cricket. In this age group we have two sides, again one side is the league side and the other is a more developing side. The under 15's train on a Thursday evening 6pm-8pm (later in high summer) and play all of their fixtures on Monday evenings (6pm start).
As the main objective of the club's junior sub-committee is to develop junior players into senior cricketers, we feel that short-term gain is not important, so that therefore we want players of all standards and abilities at all levels, we will find some cricket for you. An emphasis of our desire to develop juniors into adult cricketers is the senior side we put into the Charles Hoile Downs Cricket League (on Wednesday evenings) (www.downscricket.co.uk), this is a side lead by first eleven opening batsman, James Cook, and we try to have at least six of the side full of under 15's. We feel that this is a very important stepping stone between junior and adult cricket.
Please note that all training sessions are run by a number of fully qualified members of the ECBCA, helped out by a number of willing helpers. We try keep a ratio of a maximum of ten juniors to one adult/coach.
For further information on junior cricket at AVCC, please do not hesitate to email the coordinator of junior cricket, Phil Evans, on juniors@abingdonvalecc.co.uk
Abingdon Vale are affiliated to the ECB and The Oxfordshire Cricket Board, and are members of the Cherwell League.