Ten aspiring wicketkeepers from the Northern Cricket Union (NCU) boys and girls regional programme (age 11 to 17) received an hour long workshop with Ireland International Gary Wilson, who has returned home, from Derbyshire County Cricket Club, to play for CSNI and the Northern Knights in 2019. Three others had been nominated but were injured from other sporting activity and were unable to participate.

The Wicketkeepers

Under 11

• Ethan McAlmont
• Nicholas Doran

Under 13

• Luke Beattie
• Ryan Hunter (injured)

Under 15

• Sam Topping
• Adam Ly
• Ashton Clark

Under 17

• Ben Beattie (injured)
• Archie Johnston

Girls

• Erin Macquarrie
• Ellen Sterritt
• Sophie Hinds (injured)
• Annie Cunningham

The workshop involved coaching drills, with some of the NCU regional coaches: Regan West, James Cameron Dow and Stephen Dyer, providing practical support for Gary, so that he could closely observe all the participants. Positive feedback has been received from parents, who saw their children enjoy the experience of learning from Gary Wilson.

It is envisaged that Gary will undertake further workshops to focus on junior player development.

Commenting on this workshop, Uel Graham, NCU Operations Manager, who leads the RDS Programme said, 'Our Lead coaches highlighted that wicketkeeping is a discipline where we need to focus upon, and workshops like this are vital to skill set enhancement'.