Just under 200 children aged 4 - 11 years took part in Templepatrick Cricket Club’s Under 11 Cricket Blitz on Sunday, May 27th.

A huge crowd of over 300 people of all ages gathered in the sunshine at The Cloughan for the Kwik Cricket style festival and Family Fun Day, which was organised by the Ballyclare-based club as part of the annual Ballyclare May Fair celebrations.

P1 - P7 boys and girls from Templepatrick CC took on teams from Lurgan, Instonians and CIYMS cricket clubs in a series of Kwik Cricket games. Family and friends watched from the sidelines as the children showed off their skills, while those too young for the cricket enjoyed the other activities on offer, including a bouncy castle, inflatable slide, face painting and ice creams.

Templepatrick CC’s Cricket Development Officer, Andy McCrea, thanked everyone who helped make the event such a huge success.

“This is the first time a Cricket Blitz of this size has ever taken place in Northern Ireland and we hope it won’t be the last. I’d like to thank all the children and their parents - from all four clubs - for coming along, and all the coaches and those who helped out to make the event such a great success,” he said.

“A big thank you must also go to Newtownabbey Borough Council and O’Neills Sportswear for supporting the Cricket Blitz and Family Fun Day. Their backing for Templepatrick Cricket Club, and the promotion and development of cricket in general, is very much appreciated.”

Andy added: “We have a thriving youth section at Templepatrick CC, with around 80 under 11 boys and girls taking part in training sessions at The Cloughan every Wednesday evening. It’s fantastic to see so many children out in the fresh air enjoying sport and we hope that even more children will come along to our coaching sessions in the weeks ahead.”

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