With the summer edging closer and closer, Urmston Cricket Club is looking forward to the beginning of their season, particularly the junior section. Rob Arnold, Urmston’s junior cricket chairman spoke about his excitement for the upcoming season.

Briefly looking back at last season, it was particularly successful for the juniors at Urmston Cricket club, with two teams managing to reach the South Manchester Cup Finals. Rob labelled this a ‘real step forward in the development of our juniors and our youth programme’ and stated it was the result of ‘the hard work which our coaches and juniors have put in over the years.’ In the rest of my interview with him, we learn his hopes for the club in this coming season and how other aspiring young cricketers can get involved at Urmston.

What are you most looking forward to this season?

“Seeing the progress of our juniors throughout the season. This year, a lot of them have had a much more focussed winter training programme and will continue to have regular squad sessions alongside their matches. I’m interested to see how they develop both individually and as a team.”

What are your aims for this season?

“We hope to progress further and challenge for honours at all levels from u11s to u18s. As well as our aspirations for success, we also want to see more kids playing and enjoying cricket: it is a key aim of our whole club.”

How can other kids attend the sessions?

“Our Friday evening training session are open to boys and girls from age groups u9s to u15s. We offer both hardball and softball sessions for those only just starting their journey with cricket. Alongside this, we also have an 8-week All Stars Programme, running every Friday from the 10th of May and aimed at 5- to 7-year-olds to give them a great introduction to cricket. Unfortunately, this is now sold out for this season due to the high demand for it.”