Beechwood Cricket Club is making a concerted effort to increase the number of junior girls and boys playing the sport.
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President Amy Riddle said the club has commenced a juniors-based program called blasters which is designed to introduce cricket to non-players and to improve existing players' skills.
"My two boys love playing cricket and the blasters program is really good at improving skills for the game," she said.
"Each Wednesday at Beechwood oval we have a juniors-only training session from 4pm for an hour.
"The Junior Blasters is for kids new to cricket with participants building their skills through fun, game based activities.
"The games are designed for small groups to ensure every child gets a go, allowing them to test and learn new skills.
"When they have mastered the basics, they will be ready to graduate to Master Blasters, where they can play modified games of cricket.
"The club is encouraging girls and boys of all ages to come and have a game of cricket."
With the start of the 2018/18 Hastings River Cricket Association competition this weekend, the club is already prepared with senior teams and an u16s team ready to go.
The u16s side has had great success in recent times reaching the grand final in consecutive seasons.
"We are hopeful of fielding another junior side as well," the cricket president said.
The club will field first and second grade teams this season.
Known as a family-oriented club, the juniors have been part of the club culture for 21 years while the senior club has been around for over 100 years.
Riddle is the first female president of the club in its history, and only the second in the association.
Children wanting to register for either blasters program, please register online via the mycricket website
Wauchope RSL Cricket Club president Tony Brown says the return of Darren Bourke from Sydney grade cricket is a major boost to the club.
Bourke will be involved in coaching setups with the club and passing on his skills learnt from several seasons in the grade scene.
"We are very happy to see Darren back with us. He will move into a senior role in our Premier League side," Brown said.
"We will field essentially the same side as last year - where we finished fourth - with the addition of Darren."
The Premier League side finished fourth last year, an effort that was pleasing for club officials.
Along with the top tier competition, the club will field first, second and third grade sides in senior competition.
In the juniors, the club will field teams in each grade from u10s up to u16s along with participating in the junior blaster and master blaster programs.
Brown said a number of good young players are coming through into representative squads at this level.
"As a larger club, we are placed fairly strongly and looking forward to another successful season," he said.
The Comboyne/Kendall Cricket Club is also competing in the senior competition.
