The 2015 Cyprus Cricket Spring youth training program started on the 14 March and ran for 10 weeks finishing on the 13th June due to the Easter break and a week called off for rain!

The young crickets who took part were split in to two groups - the junior group from ages 5-8 and the seniors ages 9-13. Both groups had a nice mix of boys and girls. 

The Juniors had a mix of first time and returning young cricketers. There main aims were to work on the basic skills in all three departments of the game. 

Batting 

Stance and grip was learnt along with the straight drive and pull shots,some of which were hit with great power and skill. 

Bowling

The main aim for bowling was trying to bowl with a straight arm and still have enough power to reach the target. For most of the young cricketers putting the two part together is still a work in progress but one with time will definitely be achieved.

Fielding

Fielding was kept simple,we worked on the body and hand positions needed to complete clean catches and also the basic throwing action. Some ground fielding was introduced to help the young cricketers learn the ability to move quickly to stop the ball.

There was some really good progress made by all the young crickets with the possibility of progression for some to the senior group come the autumn.

The senior group was pushed hard through all the sessions with the aim being skill honing and a progression to full hard ball cricket.

Batting 

The young cricketers all worked hard on playing with a straight bat and still hitting the ball hard along the ground,they also honed some of the crossed batted shots like the pull in the same way as the straight batted shots.

Bowling

The bowling drills were aimed at increasing control over line and length whilst still retaining the power needed to hit the target at a good pace. We work on all three elements separately and in connection with each other to improve as a whole. Bowing for some of the group is still very much a work in progress but improvement was made in the right direction.

Fielding 

All fielding drills were completed with a hard ball and some of the catches taken were top draw....although a few sore hands by the end of the drills.

In the last full week we ran a full hard ball net with the senior group, this for most of the young cricketers was the first time they had ever worn all the protective kit which can be quite difficult to move in, all coped well with this and really enjoyed the new challenge that facing a hard ball brings.. 

To conclude Cyprus Cricket would like to thank all of the young cricketers, their parents and all of the coaching staff who helped make each and every week enjoyable and we look forward to more progression for our young cricketers in the Autumn.