Welcome from Dave Higson Junior Section Co-ordinator.

A big hello and welcome if this is the first time you have visited our junior section web pages. In this section of the web site you will find information on junior practice times, junior membership, what equipment is needed, team news/ information.

Thornton Cleveleys junior section has been in existence for over 30 years now and last year our under 11's side won the palace shield competiton for there age group. In light of this success we have been building our junior section infrastructure to ensure we provide a safe but high quality junior section that can provide players eventually to go on to play adult cricket. But at the same time not to take away the fun side of the game as well as installing the values of fair play and sportsmanship, which are good life skills that are valuable in today’s society. In the last 3-4 years we have seen a tremendous growth in our junior section with our junior membership exceeding the 100 mark last summer.

If you want to find more information about our junior cricket section then contact Dave Higson , or call down at the ground on Sunday mornings and pick up a leaflet.

 Junior Practise Sunday Mornings 9.45 ~ 12 noon.

Junior practise is on Sunday mornings for all age groups except U17’s who practise with the seniors on a Tuesday evening from 6p.m. We encourage parents to stay and watch the junior practice in idyllic and pleasant surroundings overlooking the River Wyre. On most Sunday mornings we have tea and coffee available while you watch these youngsters having fun. If you feel a little more energetic and used to play cricket before and fancy getting involved you will always welcome just make yourself known to one of the coaches. This season should see a further step forward in our practise sessions with the arrival of our extra batting cages taking them up to a total of 5 which means all age groups can be batting at the same time which essential to enable young players to develop their skills.

To ensure Sunday morning practises run smoothly we want all juniors to be arriving around 9.45am and registering at the club house that they are on the ground before they start practising. Club training kit consists of training shoes (spiked shoes can be worn but not used on plastic wickets), light coloured loose t-shirt or cricket shirt and appropriate training bottoms or cricket trousers. Children should wear sun hats, have sun cream applied when sunny and bring a non-fizzy cold drink with them. 

Please note from the age of 9-10 juniors will be introduced to a hard ball if they are ready for it. When playing with a hard ball batsmen will be provided with a club helmet, pads, and batting gloves should they not have their own. They will also require their own correct sized abdominal protector. Please note when the protector is worn the players underwear must be able to keep it in place at all times so it does not slip down especially when running.

 Junior Membership

Junior membership is a one off annual payment which gets all your Sunday morning cricket and membership for the whole year including regular newsletters.

The club has a number of different membership fee options.  Fees should be paid as soon as possible after the first week of training.  If your child is new to the Club, or to cricket, we allow them to attend for three weeks to ensure that both you and the child(ren) are happy with what we have to offer.

A single junior membership fee is £40 but we offer a series of family membership options of which details are available at the club house.

Junior Teams for 2008 Season.

For the 2008 season we will be running the following number of teams in the junior section of the Palace Shield competition.

U10’s Starter Team playing friendly's, this team is aimed at 8,9, & 10 year olds who are not quite ready for the hard ball game and will play with a softer ball played on the Kwik Cricket idea.

Teams and contact names are as below.

U10's  - Chris Cornall

U11’s - Peter Elson

U13’s - Dave Higson & Andy Brown

U15’s A and B - Martin Elson, Neil Vincent & Mike Griffiths

U17’s. - Mark Apperly & Mark Ashworth