Murrayfield Dafs Junior Newsletter – February ’18.
2018 has started well for the juniors – the Friday night sessions at St George’s have gone well and the indoor league games have seen players learning and developing. The under 11s had a great session at Westwoods with the Edinburgh South youngsters and we will look to do something like that again soon.
The way the youngsters have played in their games, their commitment, enthusiasm and sportsmanship is a credit to them and has been commented on by other teams.
1: Indoor Practices – Under 11s.
The indoor practices for the under 11s on Friday nights in the PE Hall at St George’s School for Girls, Garscube Terrace, Edinburgh from 6.30 -7.30pm are continuing.
The sessions will aim to improve skills and introduce more game time skills.
The cost of each session is £ 1. It has been good to see new faces joining us since Christmas and if you know anyone who might be interested please bring them along or ask them to contact me – details at the end of the Newsletter.
The dates of the practices are :
Fridays 23rd February.
Fridays 9th and 23rd March.
We will start outside practices at Roseburn on Friday 20th April – weather permitting.
2: Indoor Practices – Under 13s and Under 15s.
Hardball under 13 and under 15 nets will be combined with the senior nets this year. There has been a real problem getting suitable facilities but we have managed to secure the facilities at the Edinburgh Academy Junior School, in their PE Hall on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm – we appreciate that this may be difficult for those who have other sports on a Saturday morning but it was the only time available.
The cost of each session will be £ 3. The dates of the nets are :_
Saturdays: 24th February
Saturdays: 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th March
Saturday: 7th April.
The numbers attending the senior nets have been great and we are looking at how best to make this work for the youngsters. Any youngsters attending should take their hard ball kit with them.
3: Indoor League Games – February and March 2018.
Details of the games for each age group until the end of March are listed below.
The cost per session of two games is £ 3.
Under 11s (8-a-side).
Venue: Westwoods Sports Club, 7 West Woods, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 1RA.
Sunday 25th February ’18 : 1.15pm: Livingston
2.15pm: East Lothian
Sunday 25th March ’18 : 1.15pm: SMRH 2.15pm: Grange 1
Please meet in reception for games at 1pm if possible. Games finished by 3.15pm.
Under 13s (8-a-side).
Venue: Cricket Scotland, ESMS Sports Centre, Ravelston, Edinburgh EH4 3 NT.
Sunday 4th March ’18: 4pm: East Lothian
5pm: Livingston
Please meet outside the Sports Hall at 3.45pm; Games finished by 6pm.
Under 15s – Jointly with SMRH (6-a-side).
Venue: Cricket Scotland, ESMS Sports Centre, Ravelston, Edinburgh EH4 3 NT.
Sunday 11th March ’18: 4pm: RHC
5pm: Livingston
Please meet outside the Sports Hall at 3.45pm; Games finished by 6pm.
5: Subscriptions and Match/Practice Fees 2018.
We are now looking to collect in the membership forms and subscriptions for 2018. A membership form is attached to with this Newsletter. The form needs to be returned as we need up to date details of contacts, medical information and permissions around things like taking photographs.
The form can be returned by email or by handing in at any practice session or game along with the subscription – the subscription goes towards the cost of kit, insurance, entering competitions etc. Last year those who paid their subscription received a club shirt free of charge and we are looking at doing something like that this year again.
It would be appreciated if subscriptions could be paid as soon as possible.
6: Summer Cricket 2018.
Here is advance information about what we are hoping to do in the summer.
A: Practice Night.
Junior practice night will be again be Friday nights at Roseburn Park from 6.30pm until 7.30pm for the younger group and until 8pm for the older groups.
The sessions will run from 20th April until the end of August.
B: League Cricket.
The League age groups for cricket this summer are changing slightly in that there will be competitions at under 10, 12, 14 and 16.
1: Under 10s.
The under 10 softball festivals for will take place across the summer and now that Roseburn Park has seen the completion of the flood defence works we would hope to run an event – probably in June or August – those of you who have been to under 10 events will see that it is usually a fun morning providing the weather is decent.
Once we know available dates, I will let you know when we plan to hold the event as it is something where parental help is really needed to make it all work.
2: Under 12s.
The under 12 hardball League is likely to be held on Friday nights and is the one age group where we have a challenge in terms of the number of eligible players.
What we will do is use our younger hardball players as part of the under 14 team – the standard with the teams we are likely to play against will be such that it will be a good place to learn and they will certainly not be out of their depth in any way.
3: Under 14s.
The under 14 hardball league will be played on a Monday night and we intend to enter a team. Games are nine a side are played home and away and the season normally runs in May, June and August. Games normally start at 6.15pm.
The aim of the League is to introduce youngsters to hard ball and that means trying to make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate = both batting and bowling.
4: Under 16s.
We intend to run a joint team at this level with Stewarts/Melville – as we did last year. We don’t have enough youngsters at this level to have our own team but the arrangement with Stewarts Melville worked well last summer and is working well this winter as well.
It gives our lads in this age group a chance to get competitive cricket with youngsters of their own age as well as playing in the Development Team and Saturday team.
The details of the League will be confirmed following a meeting of the Lothian Junior Development Group in mid-January and once that information is confirmed I will let you know.
C: Development League.
We have again entered a team in the Sunday Development League this year. There will be eight games – home and away – although this year there are more games later in the season than earlier.
This will give a chance for our older and improving hard ball youngsters to play in a game environment as a stepping stone to Senior League cricket
Details of the fixtures will be in the next Newsletter but this is an area with parents can also play if they are interested.
The games are on Sunday afternoons and are 30 overs per side.
7: Club Shop.
Last year some parents enquired about getting club kit. We have now reached a new arrangement with Serious Cricket who run our club shop for us.
If you go on the new website – you will find the club shop under the information tab.
The shop has playing and leisure gear and it is good quality. You will see from the front page of the website that there is currently a 20% offer on all kit ordered on or before 28th February.
The club now benefits from commission when kit is bought.
8: All Stars.
The club had s registered to take part in the ECB All Stars programme again this year although the format of the programme is notyet clear. I understand registrations open on 19th February.
There is no need for youngsters who are with us to join the All Stars programme as we will run similar sessions for club members but if you do join the All Stars set up we will know and will look at the subscription issue alongside that.
If you have any queries, please contact me before you register for All Stars.
9: Getting Organised.
AS you all know, I think we are always trying to improve what the club does and that includes around organisation. Over the winter Ali Malik has taken over as Club Secretary form Phil Hawkins who many of you will know form Friday nights. Phil is first team captain this year.
Graeme Roxburgh, one of our junior parents has taken over as Treasurer and that will be a huge help for us.
We are looking for other help as follows :-
- Qualified First Aiders – who would be around at junior practices
- People who are willing to help out at the junior matches – organising the youngsters and possibly helping with umpiring and scoring
- Anyone willing to help on Friday nights including possibly making teas and coffees.
We are also looking for a scorer for the first team’s Saturday League games. This is a requirement for the Championship and if anyone is interested in doing this or knows someone who might be can you please let me know. One of the things we have been thinking about is potentially training some of the older youngsters about scoring and umpiring.
If you can help with any of these things please either e-mail me or text me.
The next Newsletter will be sent out in mid-March.
Phil Yelland – Youth Co-ordinator and President – Murrayfield Dafs CC
Contact Details: E-Mail:
Mobile: 0774-927-7066 Landline: 0131-445-1010
14th February 2018