The u13s
Our U13 section is the largest of our junior sections. Children remaining in the squad from last year (those in Year 8) are joined by children in Year 7 moving up from the U11s or across from Dynamos.
monday night coaching
The U13 coaching team consists of Carl Fawkes, Oli Berney, Jason Whiddett and Adam Thompson. They are ably assisted by other volunteers from across the club. Although Monday nights are mainly dedicated to boys' coaching, girls wishing to participate in matches alongside the boys are also invited to attend. Coaching starts on Monday 29 April and runs every Monday (including bank holidays) from 6.30pm and until 8pm. The last coaching session is on Monday 22 July although matches continue throughout the summer.
The aim of the sessions are to continue to develop skills across all 3 areas of the sport whilst encouraging children to work on specialist skills such as spin bowling or wicket-keeping. Match play and tactical awareness continue to be developed throughout coaching and match play.
JUNIOR match play
There are plenty of opportunities for U13 players of all abilities to play in matches against other clubs. We have 1 x U13 mixed team (Phoenix) entered into tier 1 and 2 x U13 mixed teams (Blaze and Fire) entered into the Norfolk Cricket Alliance leagues. The U13 Phoenix team will also participate in the Vitality Club T20 competition. Players will be predominantly allocated to either the Phoenix, Blaze or Fire squads although player availability and the need to balance the team may result in players playing across a mixture of sides. Fixtures for all teams can be found here:
U13 Phoenix Fixtures 2024 to see how they are getting on, you can access the league table here
U13 Blaze Fixtures 2023 to see how they are getting on, you can access the league table here
U13 Fire Fixtures 2023 to see how they are getting on, you can access the league table here
These matches are all played following the standard rules of cricket. If you would like to understand more about the rules in these matches, they can be found here. Girls who are in Years 9 and 10 are also eligible to play in the U13 leagues (those selected for county age group squads are only eligible to play in Year 9 in tier 1 fixtures).
Children in Year 8 (and county players in Year 7) are eligible to be selected for our senior teams and play alongside adults and more experienced players on Saturdays and Sundays. Coaches will identify players for selection throughout the season and speak with the children and the parents to discuss their thoughts. These children will also be invited to attend training on Tuesday nights with senior players.
Players playing in these fixtures will be required to wear a white Great Melton cricket shirt and cricket white trousers. They will also need a protective box and batting pants. All other equipment can be provided by the club although they are welcome to bring their own.