The Herman Griffith Primary Schools’ Cricket Competition is back after a three-year hiatus.
Twenty-six primary schools are contesting the 2023 edition of the cricket competition, which got under way today.
According to Assistant Director at the National Sports Council, Adrian Donovan, the number of boys participating is down, as a result of a lack of play during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Mr. Donovan stated that there are “good times going ahead”, and he fully expects to have more schools joining the tournament as it progresses.
“Years ago, you would have seen a lot of cricket being played in the community, on the hardcourts and on the beaches, but now you’re finding our young people are now mostly engaged in activities indoors and you’re not getting that response that you had years ago.
“Therefore, coaches had to put in a lot of work and added to that, they do not have the numbers as they had when we had 60 teams playing in the tournament,” Mr. Donovan said.
Even with the reduced numbers, he said it still promises to be filled with excitement, as five-time champions of the competition, Bayley’s Primary, will play Blackman and Gollop Primary in the opening set of matches today.
The tournament has five zones, A to E, and it will be played in two stages – a preliminary round robin in the zones and a knockout round. The winner in each zone and the next best three second-placed teams will proceed to the knockout round.
The finals of the Herman Griffith Primary Schools’ Cricket Competition will be played on Tuesday, December 12.