With Cricket among ladies growing day by day in Kenya and also proving to be an exciting sport, easy to learn and fun to play, Cricket Kenya held an inaugural Under 15 Ladies Camp.
The camp which was aimed at giving the girls a structured insight into the sport in a fun relaxed atmosphere was held last month at Ruaraka Sports Club. The camp was conducted by CK Special Projects Officer Dun Okinyo for two weeks.
Over 32 participants from various primary schools in the CK development programme and the sprawling Mathare and Huruma Slums took part in the camp that run for a full day daily.
Schools Programme bearing fruits:
Others participants came from the new secondary schools that started playing early this year. All the participants had not played cricket with hard ball and so the camp was a good opportunity to introduce them to it. The age of participants was between 11-16 years and they consisted of both secondary schools students and primary schools pupils.
Apart from increasing the number of the Ladies who play cricket at the top level, the camp was also aimed at preparing girls for the forthcoming National Secondary Schools Ladies Cricket League.
Basics at early age:
The young enthusiastic participants were guided through all technical areas of the game through fun drills and activities and always finishing with the small games that made them understand what point was being driven home by any drill.
Batting, bowling, fielding, ball handling, positioning and the rules of the game were also covered during the camp.
The participants showed a lot of enthusiasm throughout the training. A lot of talent was evident among the girls according to Okinyo. “Considering all of them were playing with hard ball and playing with full cricket gear for the first time, the passion that was seen among them immense and just needs to be developed,” he said.
National team players motivate
On some days the participants were joined by the senior ladies players who encouraged them and also helped them in coaching.
Apart from the coaching sessions that the seniors had, the participants were able to see them in action on the last day of the camp during a T20 match that they played at the venue.
The players that were outstanding in the camp were given an opportunity to play in the match and they were able to put on a good show.
The camp was closed by men’s national team bowler Nehemiah Odhiambo who had words of encouragement for the young players.
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