BARROW’s best young cricketers were given the Chance to Shine as they took to the field at Furness CC.

Teams from across the town, Walney and Lindal and Marton all took part in the Kwik Cricket festival, organised under the auspices of the ECB.

A total of 16 teams from 10 schools took part in the festival, proving the huge popularity of cricket among children in the area at present.

In the final of the competition, Dane Ghyll took on Victoria, two teams who had previously won the two district Kwik Cricket finals to reach the county finals.

It came down to who would prove to be the best school in the town, with Dane Ghyll triumphing at the end of the day, winning by 12 runs.

Organiser Alistair McDougall, the Chance to Shine community coach for Barrow and District, said: “There was a really good standard of cricket.

“Everyone had a great time, it was a fantastic day.”

Chance to Shine organise cricketing skills workshops that give children the opportunity to develop their game, or learn from scratch.

But, such is the popularity of the game in the area, McDougall decided to hold a tournament instead.

He added: “Because we have such a large cricketing fraternity we held a tournament, rather than just a day.

“The interest was very high and everybody was looking forward to competing in it.

“The demand is there and the Chance to Shine scheme has been running for 12 months now in our area.”

As well as taking part in the Chance to Shine festival, McDougall said he tried to encourage the children to expand their games elsewhere.

With many local sides offering coaching sessions for youngsters and running teams from under-11s level up, there is the opportunity to develop skills.

“There is a heavy involvement with local coaching and we try to encourage them to visit, or partake in sessions at their local clubs,” McDougall added.

“I visit schools each week and give cricket lessons and that culminates in games between the schools – it has all been really successful.”

The 10 schools who took part in the festival were Victoria Juniors, Dane Ghyll, St Colomba’s, St James’s, St George’s, St Paul’s, Ormsgill, Lindal and Marton, Cambridge Primary and Holy Family.

Four volunteers, three from Dowdales and one from St Bernard’s helped out on the day, with the organising and running of the event.

McDougall added: “The four young leaders did all the umpiring and they did a fantastic job.”