So, All Stars Season 3 is complete ! It rode in this year on a wave of promise surrounding the Cricket World Cup and all the associated excitement, and continues to deliver on its promise of #BigMoments

We were thrilled at Bashley this year that many of our “seasoned” All Stars from Years 1 & 2 had made a natural progression into the Under 9s squad. Whilst we may not have basked in such glorious Friday evening weather this year, we have been blessed with another enthusiastic young intake to join the “returning All Stars”

Each year, the ECB offers a variety of “Money Can’t Buy” experiences for families when registering for All Stars – each county cricket board offers an All Stars Day within their T20 Blast home matches, and we were delighted that 2 of our families were able to take up the opportunity, reporting back on pre-match cap presentation, signed caps and the All Stars parade on the Ageas Bowl’s hallowed turf

“today was just brilliant ….seeing nearly 1000 children on a lap of the pitch between innings was priceless…..”

Yet again, the ECB have got this initiative spot on: from the programme, activities and resources that are supplied to the Clubs, the expectation of adults participating with their All Star in some of the activities and the additional opportunities that are available to families, this is a package which nurtures enthusiasm, participation and Club Spirit, and we continue to love it !

As ever, a huge shout of thanks to my “Big All Stars”  who make running the activities so much easier with their presence and enthusiasm…. And who were definitely the “2019 Champions” at water bomb catch….

Bring on All Stars Season 4, with more #BigMoments  #BigSmiles (and hopefully some warmer evenings!)

 

(Thank you to Jonathan Worsfold for the T20 Blast photos)