Narrabri District Junior Cricket Association’s 2022/23 season well underway

It has been a wet weather-affected start, but the Narrabri District Junior Cricket Association’s 2022/23 season is well underway.

The campaign began on Saturday, October 15, which was a week earlier than expected to allow representative players to have a hit out before their round one games the following day.

However, since then, the local and rep seasons have been hampered by rain, with only three of the six weeks so far going ahead at Cooma Oval.

Despite the wet start, Luke Baker is thrilled with how things are running, and he told The Courier that junior cricket in Narrabri would improve as the season progressed and also in years to come.

Baker is currently enjoying his first season as the NDJCA chairman and has been impressed with the skills and attitudes of the junior players.

“It’s been very wet, and we’ve only gotten three weeks in so far, and we’ve missed three,” Baker said.

“But the kids are having a ball, and the cricket has been good. They have all come a long way since last year.

“Narrabri junior cricket is looking up, to be honest.”

The NDJCA age groups this season are junior blasters (5-years to 7-years), master blasters (7-years to 9-years), under-11s and under-15s.

There are currently just short of 50 players registered in the two blasters age groups and 50 players registered across the under-11s and under-15s age groups.

There are two teams in each of those two older age groups.

The NDJCA board is predicting that those numbers will increase across the next few weeks as flooding in the Narrabri Shire eases and youngsters from Wee Waa and surrounding areas are able to get to cricket on a Saturday morning.

There are also several players who have come along to junior cricket to give it a go and are expected to soon sign up and play permanently.

Baker said there would be no set cut-off date for players during the 2022/23 season and that players are welcome to sign up and play cricket at any stage during the campaign.

The NDJCA chairman said that the junior cricketers were in great hands this season, especially the youngest ones in the junior blasters and master blasters age groups.

Current NDCA first grade stars Matt Conroy and Brendon Ward are both running the junior blasters program, which includes a weekly hour-long session of drills and fun activities to assist the youngsters in learning basic skills, being active and most importantly, enjoying themselves.

Looking after the master blasters players are Matt McConnell and Evan Harris. That program is more developed and includes fielding, bowling and batting practice, followed by a game at the end of the session.

Baker commended the efforts of the four blasters coaches and added that Narrabri District Junior Cricket Association was thankful for parent helpers who are getting involved each week.

“There’s parents who will help out by scoring, for example, without even asking,” he said.

“There’s a lot of parent help. This year and last year, it has been great.”

Junior cricket has a brand new look this season, with the players wearing coloured clothing.

The predominantly blue shirts and pants have replaced the traditional all-white cricket uniforms that have been used during previous seasons.

Baker said that decision was made to align with representative cricket, with the Sunday comps shifting to coloured uniforms for the 2022/23 campaign.

He thanked sponsors McDonald’s Narrabri, Santos and Carla Baxter Real Estate, whose logos all appear on the shirts, as well as Parramatta District Cricket Association club Winston Hills Cricket Club, which is a keen supporter of the NDJCA and made a generous donation this season to ensure that all junior cricket players would receive a shirt to play in.

At this stage, NDJCA cricket will be played at Cooma Oval on Saturday mornings, weekly, until the Christmas and New Year break.

The board is planning for cricket to be played on Friday nights under lights at Collins Park, Hogan Oval and Leitch Oval when the season resumes in 2023, coinciding with school term one

That is not yet confirmed, but Baker said the junior board was working hard to make it happen.