Westmoreland Cricket Association saving children through cricket

The Westmoreland Cricket Association is on a mission to remove children from the streets of the parish, while also grooming those at the primary level using the sport of cricket.

Deploying the motto 'Save The Children to Serve Through Cricket' the association embarked on weekly primary school cricket camps, which president Deltonio Williams has labelled a success.

The camps started during the Christmas holidays and were for teams who failed to make the quarterfinals of the Westmoreland Primary School Cricket Competition. The final camp is slated for this weekend.

According to the organisers, 38 institutions in the parish participated in the Primary Schools Cricket League, which is now in the quarterfinal stage, with only nine teams remaining. The other 28 teams were placed in five zones for the camps.

Williams said that during the camps, which were held three days each week, the children were provided with free training, cricket guidelines and grooming.

"The five zones are Paradise, New Hope, Darliston, Broughton and Lambs River, and training takes place every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday," Williams stated.

According to former coach of Jamaica under-17, Norman Jackson, the level of gravitation the youths had for these camps was never seen before in his decades-long involvement of cricket in the parish.

Jackson stated that along with Grantley Reid, they had been the backbone of junior cricket in the parish.

"We try to cover all the primary schools in the parish and it has been good. The campers are very enthusiastic. Everywhere we go the children request that we return, they want more so we have seen that they are eager and they are learning," Jackson said.

He said the camps introduced the basics of cricket to the youngsters that include fielding, ground fielding, catching, bowling and batting.