One of the last events to be held on the main pitch at Edgbaston this season was the Chance to Shine Year 5 Schools’ finals. The pairs cricket tournament was a culmination of a cricket season that started when the participating children were towards the end of Year 5. Now, as those pupils start in Year 6, the nine schools who won their local area tournaments before the summer holidays had the opportunity to play on the main pitch at Edgbaston. The outfield was divided into quadrants, each hosting a softball match as the teams rotated in two groups, with the winners of each group playing each other in the final.
The participating schools were Balsall Common Primary School, Brookhurst School, Chandos Primary School, Greswold School, Knowle Cof E Academy, Monkspath Primary School, Peterbrook Primary School, St George & St Teresa Primary School and Wylde Green Primary. After a very tight, competitive and low scoring final, the eventual tournament winners were St George & St Teresa Primary School, with Wylde Green Primary runners up.
Talking to teachers and participants during the day, two main themes emerged. Firstly, everyone was very excited to be playing cricket on the lush grass of the main pitch at Edgbaston. To add to the excitement, in the middle of the tournament on the main square the Edgbaston groundstaff were working with an array of machinery to prepare the wicket for the final match of the season. Secondly, teachers felt there was a huge level of progression during the day for their pupils, with performances improving dramatically as the tournament progressed.
At Chandos Primary School there is very little green outside space, only a small strip between the playground and the perimeter fence. There was some debate amongst the Chandos Primary pupils as to whether the Edgbaston grass was actually real. Ten year old Alioune, when asked what he liked about coming to Edgbaston, said, “I like it – I like the grass! I like cricket, it’s my favourite. I like it when you get to bat and have fun.” Alioune then disappeared off to bat with his partner and promptly played a spectacular pull shot which raced away to the boundary.
Alioune’s teachers were delighted with the performances from their children. “They have really improved during the day,” said Mark James. “They have learnt a lot and it’s been a great experience – particularly playing on a larger pitch. This pitch is about ten times bigger than our playground.”
Mark’s colleague Sajid Akram agreed. “What an amazing experience for our children to play cricket on this pitch. They will be able to go home and tell their families they have played cricket in an international stadium.”
Mrs Malherin, a Year 6 teaching assistant at Brookhurst Primary School in Leamington, agreed the improvement in skills during the day was noticeable. “The coaches have been great today. They have been coaching the less confident children during the matches, for example showing a couple of our children how to bowl with a straight arm. There has also been good knowledge sharing between the children too, with the less experienced participants benefitting from tips given by those of their classmates who play more regularly. Altogether, it’s been a great opportunity to play at a stadium they will have seen on tv this summer during the Commonwealth Games.”
Also accompanying the Brookhurst team was parent helper Mrs Abbott. “The children have been fizzy with excitement all day!” observed Mrs Abbott. “They have all been very vocal supporting each other and there has been good camaraderie between schools. Just to be here today after winning our local tournament is a statement on its own. We have done so well to be here, and it doesn’t matter if we win or lose today – we are here at Edgbaston!”
Mrs Abbot was delighted the WCB coaching team were scoring the matches so that she and Mrs Malherin could support the children and enjoy the Edgbaston atmosphere. It wasn’t all about the cricket either – Mrs Abbott reported that the children were very fascinated to discover there were no ants on the Edgbaston pitch!
Brookhurst pupil William enjoyed the supportive nature of the tournament. “I enjoyed watching my classmates score 4’s and 6’s. When I went into bat, they carried on cheering for me as well and it made me play better.”
Miss Bragg, teacher at Greswold School in Solihul,l described the moment the children walked out onto the pitch at Edgbaston. “They were shocked, excited, overwhelmed and in awe – all at once! They have really enjoyed the opportunity to play here, and it has all been conducted with good sportsmanship. I can see the progression since our involvement with Chance to Shine. Some of our children are now playing at local clubs, having picked up an interest in cricket at school. Our children have learnt some good leadership skills today, as well as
developing their cricketing awareness. They have also learnt that cricket is a fair game played in good spirit, so we congratulate good play on both sides and don’t cheer when something goes wrong for our opponents.”
The WCB coaching team also had a rewarding day, seeing the culmination of their coaching work in schools last year. Shahzeb Raja noticed how well the children supported each other. “It’s been a really good day. The children have been full of energy and the teachers are very keen. We have a few county cricketers here today, and a few more who play for clubs. Those children have enjoyed leading from the front. They know they rules, the game is second nature to them, so they are enjoying helping their classmates.”
Shahzeb’s WCB colleague Emily Farmer observed similar instances of children coaching each other. “I saw one boy, for example, encouraging his classmates to walk in with the bowler when they were fielding. It was really good to see when they all did it – good cricketing knowledge and independence too.”
Emily was also happy to see girls fully involved in the tournament. Most of the participating teams included girls. “It’s great the girls are so involved,” said Emily. “It’s also nice to see there is no difference between the level of involvement between the girls and boys. I really like that. It shows we have come a long way since the girls were on the periphery at events like this. In some of the teams they are amongst the strongest players.”
Reflecting on a great tournament at the trophy presentation, WCB Schools’ Manager Danny Maskell highlighted the great cricketing skills on show during the day. Noah from St George & St Teresa’s School took the catch of the day and Charlie from Knowle Primary took a hattrick. For Danny, it was the quality of the fielding that really stood out. Congratulating the players, he said, “In cricket, you can’t just bat and bowl – you have to be able to field as well. It’s been really good to see some great fielding today.”
Danny also thanked teachers, the WCB coaching team and especially the Edgbaston groundstaff, who were very accommodating on the day. Congratulations to all the participants on making their way to the Edgbaston finals and displaying such great cricket skills throughout the day. The 2022 season is finished but there is plenty to look forward to next year.