YOUNGSTERS at Furness Cricket Club are making the most of giving their first taste of hitting bat against ball.

It is part of the All Stars Cricket programme that is currently taking place at clubs across the area.

All Stars Cricket is the England and Wales Cricket Board’s entry level participation programme, aimed at providing children aged five to eight with a great first experience in cricket.

The activity and game-based programme is suitable for all skill levels, providing children with the foundations to begin a lifelong love of physical activity and cricket, while making friends in a safe and enjoyable environment.

All Stars Cricket sessions have been held at Furness on Friday evenings from 5-6pm since May 31 and will be continuing until July 19.

Cameron Baker is the ECB-qualified coach who is taking the sessions and he said: “It’s been alright so far, the kids are enjoying it, so everything is going well.

“We had to call last week’s session off because of the rain, but the first week and this week have been fine, so hopefully it’s like this for the rest of our run.”

“We’ve just been teaching the kids the basics of bowling, batting, fielding and catching, stuff like that, and just getting them used to it.”

Every child that registers will receive a backpack full of goodies including a cricket bat, ball, activity book, personalised shirt and cap all sent straight to their address.

They will also earn stars as the weeks progress that match the skills learned during the programme, including batting, throwing, catching, bowling, running, teamwork, communication and the spirit of cricket.

Baker said: “I think their favourite activity is batting – everyone seems to love batting. They say it’s a batsman’s game, so that shouldn’t be a surprise.”

He spoke about his experiences with cricket, saying: “There was nothing like this when I was first getting into cricket. My brother used to play up here, so I just came up here with him and if he hadn’t have played here, I wouldn’t have had a clue about cricket, to be honest. It’s not a big thing around here.

“These kids will start watching cricket on the telly so they’ll start knowing about Liam Livingstone, knowing he’s from Barrow and then hopefully more people will get interested. It’s all football and rugby league around here, not cricket. It’s just about trying to get more numbers playing it.”

To book your place, visit https://ecb.clubspark.uk/AllStars/Course.