LOSTOCK Cricket Club president David Kaye is positive about the future with a booming junior section at the Chew Moor based side.

In recent seasons the juniors have had an overhaul thanks to the efforts of husband-and-wife team Mark and Gill Greenhalgh who joined Lostock three years ago after experience of organising youth cricket elsewhere in the area.

And what they have achieved in such a short time is nothing short of remarkable according to Kaye.

He said: “On their arrival, junior playing membership was at a very modest level, but now Lostock field teams playing in the Bolton League at under-nines, u11, u13 and u15 levels.

“Last Friday, in common with cricket clubs across the country, we launched the ECB-sponsored All Stars cricket programme, aimed at introducing the game to five to eight-year-olds.

“This prompted an amazing influx of boys and girls to Lostock, with more than 40 children having signed up for the eight-weeks long programme, which ensures each participant receives rudimentary coaching, complemented by items of individual cricket kit, including a personalised cricket shirt, bat, ball and various ancillary items.”

Ahead of the All Stars launch, the club ran an internal competition amongst the youngest contingent, requesting them to submit designs for a new 2022 season kit for all the juniors, also to be used as a basis for the first-team kit for the T20 competition.

The proud winner was six-year-old Jake Diver, who was presented with his new kit by Kaye.

He told The Bolton News: “Having been a member of the club for almost six decades, embracing five changes of league and four different grounds, I thought I’d seen just about everything there is to see on a cricket field.

“However, the sight that greeted me when I arrived at Chew Moor for this presentation was unlike anything I had previously witnessed.

“There were around 90 children, split up into different age groups, enjoying diverse cricket-related activities across the entire ground, and the joyous sounds emanating from the huge group was a delight to the ear.

“The clubhouse was packed with parents and relations, and there was a palpable buzz about the entire scene.

“As I presented the kit to young Jake, and said a few congratulatory words to him and the rest of the attendees, I must admit I was fighting back a lump in the throat.

“It was a truly memorable experience, and augers so well for the future of our cricket club.”