Betteshanger CC took the Kent Indoor Six-a-Side county title for the first time in the finals at the Kent Cricket Academy, and now progress to the regional play-offs.

The team from the Dover district gained revenge for their defeat by Canterbury in last year’s final in another close-fought game which again went down to the last over - and victory means Betteshanger represent Kent in the regional qualifying game against Sussex champions Crawley CC in Hove.

Choosing to bat Canterbury started steadily with John Rose and Ryan Minter running well between the wickets, Minter was run out in the fourth over with the score on 30. Simon Smith joined Rose at the crease and they both scored runs consistently allowing Rose to retire with 25 not out.

Ben Cooper did not hang around for long, caught by Andy McNicholas off the bowling of Mike McNicholas – and the score was 59 in the seventh over. Smith and new batsman Damien Minter upped the scoring rate allowing the former to retire on 26 not out.

With the total on 95 at the end of the 10th over and wickets in hand a score of over 120 looked on. Betteshanger then upped their game. Mike McNicholas’s next over went for only eight, but saw Minter dismissed for 25 and Rose run out after just adding one run on his return.

The final over bowled by Mike McNicholas conceded just three runs and the final two wickets fell as Smith was stumped for 26 and Rob Marsh run out leaving Betteshanger to chase down 107 to win. Mike McNicholas finished with 2-23 while Andy McNicholas 1-24 also bowled well.

Betteshanger’s reply started with Minter bowling a maiden, Martin Cheeseman and Liam Collins then got back on track and the runs started to flow; and after six overs the score was 59 and both openers were back in the hutch with 25 each.

Andy McNicholas and evergreen Derek Towe kept on top of the rate until the former was run out with the score on 71 half way through the eighth over. The Betteshanger batsmen were taking some tight runs and Towe was next victim, run out for 17 in the tenth with the score on 81.

With 20 runs required from the last two overs the result was too close to call. Cooper bowled the penultimate over conceding just nine but also taking the wicket of Joffie Towe in the process.

The last over started with a run out but Mike McNicholas and the returning Cheeseman held their nerve scampering the winning runs from the fifth ball, Cheeseman finishing on 28 not out.

For Canterbury, Minters spell of 0-14 was the best in that innings while Cooper returned 1-25.

The full scores from the whole event is available for download from here.

On the new Female Club Cricket section of the website the notes of the first meeting of interested clubs which was held recently have been published.

You will find them here:  please note that the second meeting will be at Addington CC at 7:30 on 10th February.

The astonishing growth of the female game in the county really is an exciting development and if you are a club that is thinking of establishing a women’s or girls section or both, or have an established section already and want to be part of this brand-new initiative, don’t hesitate to contact Clair Gould and get involved.

If you are an individual who wants to play the game but aren’t yet associated with a Club please do contact Clair who will be able to point you towards a Club, or Clubs in your area and district.

Kent County Cricket is proud to be able to say that three full international cricketers are players for the County side and recently, two more were added to the ever-growing list.  Their success is due to the strong structure that exists already in the County and which we expect to grow considerably in the future.

Kent Cricket Board has been advised of a number of “Equity in Your Coaching” courses that have been arranged at various locations throughout the County.

“Equity in Your Coaching” is a mandatory requirement for all those Clubs looking either to achieve Clubmark and for Re-accreditation.  The course must be be attended by a lead coach at the Club every 3 years.

Courses are rarely available so far ahead and so well-spread geographically:  please do book in plenty of time and make sure that the date your Club is working towards to achieve Clubmark or re-accreditation isn’t missed.

All courses are “Equity in Your Coaching” and all cost £17.50:

Area             Date                   Time
Medway       27-Feb-2010     1.00pm-4.00pm
Dover          19-Apr-2010      6.30pm-9.30pm
Sevenoaks  18-May-2010     6.30pm-9.30pm
Ashford       17-Jun-2010      6.30pm-9.30pm
Canterbury  15-Jul-2010      6.30pm-9.30pm

Please note that these courses are not available through Kent Cricket Board.  Please make all enquiries through Kent Sport

Leon BadgerHampshire Disability player Leon Badger has become the first powered wheelchair user to gain a Level One coaching qualification.

Badger, who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and diabetes, has begun coaching after making history when he gained the UKCC1 (coaching assistant) certificate last year.

Having played disability cricket at county level for over 10 years, and playing a central role in the establishment of a disability cricket team at his day centre, Badger has faced many challenges in his effort to become a coach. Health problems, he explains, have strengthened his determination to be involved in cricket.

If you’d like to read the full story, written by ECB’s Edward Kemp, we have it in full on this website.

For all the latest information about Disability Cricket here in Kent click this link.  Any questions you might have don’t hesitate to contact KCB’s Community Cricket Managers Andy Griffiths or Clair Gould.

Paul FarbraceWe are delighted to be able to say that the KCB Coaches Association Spring Workshop will this year be delivered by Kent County Cricket Club’s Director of Coaching, Paul Farbrace.  The theme of the workshop is “Keeping to Pace”.

It will take place on Saturday 27th February 2010 at Bishop Justus School, Bromley from 9.30am – 12.30pm and will cost £10.00 per head.

You can download the application form from here.  The application form contains all the details about where to send it and your payment and so on.  We strongly recommend an early application as this Workshop will undoubtedly be heavily subscribed.

If you have any furhter questions please contact Peter Carter by email peter@imagematters.co.uk or to Heidi Coleman at Kent Cricket Board on 01227 473621 or by email heidi.coleman.kent@ecb.co.uk

In response to unprecedented demand, Kent Cricket Board has arranged two new courses for early spring 2010.

The first, a UKCC Level 1 Coaching Assistant course will be held at Cranbrook School on three consecutive Sundays starting March 14th 2010. 

UKCC Level 1 is for those who perhaps want to start on a coaching career, or perhaps for teachers who would like to enhance their skill set or for parents who might want to see for themselves what the Club is trying to get their children to achieve and be involved first hand.

The second, a UKCC Level 1 Coaching Course will be held at Kent Cricket Club on 4 consecutive Sundays starting 9th May 2010 with a formal assessment on Sunday 18th July 2010.

UKCC Level 2 is for those with some cricketing or coaching experience already and who might perhaps be wanting to start out on a coaching career at some point or for current UKCC Level 1 coaches wanting to move on further.

All coaching qualifications need candidates to complete mandatory First Aid and Safeguarding and Protecting Children courses and they have been included as part of the programme for these events.  Details are in the application form.

For your information all courses require that candidates attend all sessions:  missing even one will mean an automatic failure and a new course undertaken later.

The application form for the UKCC Level 1 course can be downloaded here

The application form for the UKCC Level 2 course can be downloaded here

Please do note though that KCB cannot accept bookings for any course unless the application form is completed and payment made at the same time.  If you have any questions or queries don’t hesitate to contact Heidi Coleman at Kent Cricket Board on 01227 473621 or by email at heidi.coleman.kent@ecb.co.uk

Susie Rowe and Karen Baker, who both played a part in Kent’s LV= County Championship win in 2009, have been named in the England women’s Academy squad for the High Performance Camp in Bangalore next month.

Rowe, a 22 year-old all-rounder and Baker, a 20 year-old wicketkeeper, have been selected in a 13-man squad by Paul Shaw, recently appointed high performance manager, for their first-ever trip to India.

The squad will meet at the National Cricket Performance Centre for four days before departing for Bangalore on March 16, where they will stay for ten days.

Tony Rose, Kent women’s cricket chairman, said: “This is wonderful news for two of our most dedicated and talented young women and also for Kent cricket. They have quite rightly earned their places in the squad and everyone in the in the Kent set-up naturally wishes them every success in this wonderful adventure.”
 
England Academy squad:

• Lauren Griffiths (Cheshire)
• Susie Rowe (Kent)
• Lauren Onojaife (Essex)
• Beth Macgregor (Essex)
• Heather Knight (Devon)
• Kate Cross (Lancashire)
• Jasmine Titmuss (Nottinghamshire)
• Rochelle Petty (Yorkshire)
• Jenny Halstead (Middlesex)
• Charlie Russell (Sussex)
• Izzy Westbury (Somerset)
• Karen Baker (Kent)
• Fran Wilson (Somerset)

Reserves:

• Jo Cook (Essex)
• Georgia Elwiss (Staffordshire)

Recently, Kent Cricket Board carried out a thorough review of the potential funding streams and opportunities that exist today.

All of our findings have been included in a document which lists the names of the organisations involved, all their contact details and the types and levels of funding that they offer.

It contains details of the Lord’s Taverners, O2’s “Its Your Community” Fund, Kent Sports Development Unit (KSDU), Kent Community Foundation, Comic Relief, Awards for All, Sport England, Sport England Small Grants, Pro-Active London Partnerships, Skills Active Bursaries and of course, the England and Wales Cricket Board.

If you are currently looking for funding this document will be of considerable interest to you.  You can find it by following this link.

As always, Clair Gould and Andy Griffiths, Community Cricket Managers are available to give you advice on any funding opportunity you may want to investigate.

In response to a heavy demand Kent Cricket Board have arranged for an additional UKCC1 course to be held at Cranbrook School starting on Sunday 14th March 2010.

A full application form is attached which needs completing and returning to Heidi Coleman at the address on the form.  The course also includes Safeguarding and Protecting Children and First Aid, both of which are mandatory requirements.

Please note that KCB cannot accept bookings unless full payment is received with the application form.

Essential courses for would-be Coaches or those needing to re-qualify for the next three years or for any Club seeking Clubmark Accreditation or re-Accreditation have been arranged.

These are the details:

First Aid:
10th February 2010 – Hill View Offices, Welling : 6.30-9.30pm
24th February 2010 – Addington Village CC : 6.30-9.30pm

Safeguarding & Protecting Children:
10th February 2010 – Addington Village CC : 6.30-9.30pm
23rd February 2010 – Civic Offices, Bexley : 6.30-9.30pm

PLEASE NOTE the change of date for the SPC Course at Bexley, now on 23rd February not as previously advertised.

If you’re interested in any of the above a booking form is available and should be completed and returned to Heidi Coleman at KCB with payment.