MCC Foundation squads on path to success
Cricket Shropshire’s MCC Foundation programme continues to go from strength to strength as the sides prepare for their regional competitions this Summer.
The MCC Foundation sides are aimed at state school pupils who are not currently part of the County Age Group programme.
This year, Shropshire is running Boys teams at Under 13 and Under 15 level and Girls at Under 14 and Under 17s.
All the teams have been playing or are scheduled to play games against school and county sides ahead of their regional competitions, including the Boys Under 15s who were in action at Ellesmere College recently.
One of the players Rory said: “We play various schools at the start of the season to build up our confidence and get to know our coaches. In the summer, we go into regional competitions against other MCC groups.
“Last year we reached the semi-finals, so hopefully we can go even further this year. MCC is good because it’s less stressful and you can play with your friends while building confidence ready for club cricket and other matches throughout the season.”
The fixture was also another example of the strong relationship between Cricket Shropshire and Ellesmere College, with Director of Cricket Gareth Owen delighted to welcome the group once again.
“It’s always an absolute pleasure to host Shropshire Cricket Board here,” he said.
“It benefits everyone involved. We always have friendly, competitive games played in the right manner and spirit. It’s always a pleasure to host.”
Parents have also seen first-hand the impact the programme has had on the players’ development and confidence.
Rob Rollings, whose son Henry has been part of the MCC programme for the past two years, praised both the coaching and team environment.
“MCC has been brilliant,” he said. “The training they have had through Darrell (Corfield) and Cricket Shropshire has been immense.
“All the lads from different schools have mixed well together and have come together as a team. The development I’ve seen over the last two years has been phenomenal.
“The skill sets they’ve developed through the training and matches have been amazing and you can see that transferring into Saturday cricket with players now performing at really high standards across Shropshire.
“Henry is now opening the bowling for Bridgnorth, and his confidence has grown massively through MCC.
“You can always see the smile on his face and it’s a credit to Cricket Shropshire for bringing state-school players together like this.”
Jane Jones echoed those sentiments, explaining how much her son Morgan has enjoyed being involved in the programme.
“He’s absolutely loved it,” she said. “He prefers it to his club U15s cricket because of the higher standard and competitive nature of the games.
“The national competition is a huge motivator for the boys and last year the possibility of getting to play at Lord’s really inspired them.
“I think it’s fantastic to bring players together from different clubs around the county and give state-school children access to high-quality coaching opportunities.
“Some get bits through clubs, but it can be quite hit and miss otherwise. We really hope it continues because it’s been brilliant.”
Look out for more updates from the MCC Programme next week.
