Based on the highly successful eight-a-side tournament run by the Sydenham and Lancaster Park/Woolston Cricket Clubs during the Christmas holidays a similar tournament has been introduced in these areas for Under-15 boys.

The competition started on February 27 and takes place every Wednesday afternoon through to the end of the first term. Six teams are competing at the three venues of Sydenham Park, Garrick Park and the Linwood Lower Field. The schools involved are Hillmorton, Cashmere, Cathedral College, Aranui and there are two teams from Linwood College.

The rules of the tournament are structured to promote participation in the game, however the element of competition is certainly still apparent. Each innings is 21 overs and so the whole match is completed in just over two hours. This is appealing to the boys as the game is very much 'action-packed'.

Garry McDonald, who coached the Canterbury Men's team for a number of years, ran the Christmas tournament with Dave Wilson and Ivan Thomson and so was able to pass on some valuable advice for this competition. The competition is fortunate to have three very good men officiating each of the games, namely Bruce Cameron, Gary Hooper and Michael Jones. These 'officials' are scoring, umpiring and also offering some valuable coaching tips during the course of each match.

Nigel Marsh, the tournament organiser, says "I'm very excited with the enthusiasm that this tournament has generated and I'm convinced that this is an excellent way to promote the game amongst our Secondary Schools throughout the city in the future."

Results from the first round:

Linwood Red 87 (H Waddell 15; T Cattermol 3-3) lost to Aranui 88/4 (S Jagger 25 not out; T Saul 2-15)
Cashmere 108 (A Green 19; D Markay 3-7) lost to Hillmorton 109/5 (D Markay 15, D Hore 12; A Ahlfeld 2-11)
Linwood Black 160 (C Eaves 38 not out, A Chivers 38 not out, D Wilson 36 not out; S Robinson 3-28) beat Cathedral College 37 (K Mariner 10; C.Eaves 2-4, A McCormack 2-6)

© Canterbury Cricket Association