Poloc's juniors

Poloc runs junior cricket teams at seven available age-group levels: Under 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 and compete in West District Junior Cricket Union - as well as ECB and Cricket Scotland - competitions.  Under 10 players compete in "Kwik Cricket" competitions, the others hard-ball.  But competitive play is only one, small, aspect of Poloc's junior work and this page will tell you more about what's going on at the club for the 50 or so youngsters registered with it.

The club's coaching staff are all qualified and appropriately CRBS, Disclosure Scotland, PVG and/or Police checked, and the club is an enrolled body under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme.  Poloc's Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Policy can be viewed online and is also available from our Child and Vulnerable Adult Protection Officer, Keith Young, whose contact details can be found below and on the Contact us page of the website.

Junior news and match report  

Convincing win in Paisley [posted 08/07/19]

The Under 16s were up against a strong Ferguslie|Kelburne combined team this evening, their hosts at "Meikleriggs" including no fewer than three Western Warriors players in McLean, Wylie and Khan.  After the toss it was the combination side that were batting.  And McLean put down a marker, first ball, driving Jamesy's first delivery for a 4 through mid-off.  A good shot, but also a good ball.  And Jamesy would have his revenge three balls later when he enticed McLean in to a repeat shot, this time however the Kelburne batter could only drive it straight back at JDC who pouched a smart caught and bowled.  This brought Wylie to the crease, however he'd last just the one ball as Jamesy yorked him to see the wicket dismantled and the batter disgruntled.  4 for 2.  Khan and Tahir then added 38 for the third wicket, their burgeoning partnership being ended by Tahir (17) being out-foxed by Samee, who sneaked an arm ball past his defences.  42 for 3.  From this point on all Khan was then able to do was watch as partners came and went.  Nabeel did for Collins, his direct hit from backward point running out the left-hander, before Moiz decided to try and end things very quickly with three quick wickets.  49 all out.  And, pleasingly, just 3 runs conceded in wides and not a bye to be seen.  Good effort, and putting senior players to shame. 

The run-chase was efficiently dealt with too.  Zakir (20) and Abdul (17*) all-but securing a ten-wicket win, the former being dismissed - caught and bowled - just as the finish line was neared.  However it wouldn't spark anything other than a short delay in the win being secured, and the winning post was passed in the eighth over.  A good win, over a good side, and as pleasingly a good performance from this side. 

#bluebatbedlam [posted 04/07/19]

Keith Sheridan reports on last night's Kwik Cricket at "Titwood".  "Thanks go to Jeetinder Berman for setting this up and we will definitely try to squeeze some more games against Clydesdale in as we enter the second half of the season. The kids all had a great time as we managed to get in three, 8-overs-a-side, matches in the evening.  We even had a fresh Captain each game much to the delight of the kids. For once only, even the results genuinely did not matter with Clydesdale winning all three games, the closest of which was a mere 3-run victory. I'd say that even if Poloc had won all three games!  There were even some familiar faces in the opposition team which spiced things up nicely. Everyone batted, everyone bowled and everyone fielded and it all simulated real cricket, so learning all the time. Playing right in front of the grand old 'Titwood' pavilion, there were genuine moments of great cricket from both sides.

"Clydesdale may have unearthed a majestic young leg spinner who, even at Under 10, can spin it both ways which proved challenging for the 'Loc batters! Nonetheless, some highlights included Aaron Campbell hitting his first ball in any form of cricket in his life for 4, James Sheridan's fielding is worthy of special mention with great hands, fast over the ground and a good throwing arm and some lusty blows while batting. Elliot MacQuien, too, was great in the field and can strike a nice ball in only his second week of playing cricket. Muntaha was her steady self with very sensible batting and running and nice straight bowling (most of the time!). Aatish was not in prime form with the [blue plastic] willow but produced some very nice bowling on the night. Young Aqib along with Muneeb and Abdul are making huge strides forward. At the start of the season bowling was not on the agenda but last night all three were bowling legitimate balls – great to see – keep it up lads. Batting, too, they are getting to grips with the concept of running and not getting out and costing the team 4 runs every time! So, much to work on, but progress being made and, most importantly, a great fun evening had by all. Thanks again to Jeetinder and we will look for dates in the coming months to turn a one off perhaps into a series!"

Under 12s lose out in Giffnock [posted 10/06/19]

Keith Sheridan reports on tonight's Under 12 defeat at "Woodfarm Pavilion".  "Losing the toss, Poloc were inserted. A very young Poloc team were up against a much older, streetwise East Ren' side containing 9 (!) players. Things started badly with Aatish being cleaned up first ball of the game and really didn't improve much over the 20 overs. The additional fielder for East Ren' did make scoring harder but their bowling was straight and asked plenty questions of our batters.  Max and Aatish both made 9, striking some lusty blows. Max in particular smiting a couple of boundaries in an eventful first over. Something to discuss with brother Elliot over dinner this week!

"However, the openers having put on 24 for the first five overs were dismissed five times between them costing 20 runs. So all the hard endeavour led to a net total of 4 from their five overs! Muneeb and Muntaha were next and were stoic in defence with a partnership of 1 for three dismissals from their three overs. Aqib accompanied skipper Adam for the 'Loc's third partnership with Adam striking the ball nicely and remaining unbeaten.

"Last up were Nitin and Abdul, the latter surviving unbeaten on 0 despite a nasty habit of teasing fielders by consistently hitting the ball in the air just out of their reach! A habit requiring immediate breaking! Nitin bore the brunt of the East Ren' star bowler, Tariq superbly negotiating two torrid overs himself while protecting Abdul from the strike. Nitin reaped the rewards of his endeavours in the last over of the innings striking three lovely boundaries finishing with a creditable 12 not out.

"Poloc, thanks to extras, finished on 65 for 9 from their twenty overs. The quirk of the rules making that 77 for 9 with 12 runs being added for taking three wickets when they bowled. More of that later. The East Ren' repost commenced in solid fashion with Tariq and Hadi putting on 33 for no loss in their five overs. Their running between the wickets was very accomplished and took the Poloc fielders by surprise. One to learn from as a fielding unit and as a batting unit! Only 19 of those 33 runs from the opening partnership were from the blade and so it went on through the innings with runs being gifted to East Ren' throughout either from wides, no-balls, byes or silly over throws. Indeed, it seemed that the horizontal and vertical hold of the Poloc bowlers had been switched off prior to the innings commencing! No Poloc bowler took a wicket this week but the team did execute three runouts.

"East Ren' "loaned" Poloc an extra fielder for the first five overs to compensate for them having nine on the paddock for the whole Poloc innings. However, the final fifteen overs of the East Ren' innings there were just the eight Poloc players on the park. Not a game-changing scenario by any means but a handicap nonetheless. For East Ren', Ibrahim and Musa both made 18 the latter however being runout twice. Final mention goes to de Silva who bludgeoned 32 not out including a maximum. Sanjith, his batting partner, made 3 in tandem with de Silva, but was not always overly enamoured with his batting partner who, as well as a knack of hitting boundaries, was extremely good at farming the strike!

"East Ren' finished on 134 for 3 and, courtesy of their earlier nine wickets, this was supplemented by the tune of 36 to make 170 for 3 and a victory for East Ren' by the imposing margin of 93 runs. So, a loss for Poloc's youngest side and on to play an ever strong Clydesdale side next week at Titwood. As long as lessons are being learned and games are being worked on then there is always room to progress. Things to work on is a fairly comprehensive list including catching, saving singles in the field, bowling straight and full, defending straight balls when batting, backing each other up in the field and backing up as a non-striking batsman and last, but not least, general fitness and speed around the ground. Onwards and upwards!"

Under 15s exit the ECB Cup [posted 19/05/19]

The Under 15s made the trip over the river to "New Anniesland" today to take on Glasgow Accies in the ECB Cup.  With a start time of 10am, on the morning after a wet Saturday, the ground was still damp when play started.  Batting first after being inserted were the hosts, Accies got off to a cautious start.  Paterson's would be the first home wicket to fall, 5 for 1.  However McCorkindale and Chadha then added 84 for the second wicket, Chadha being given a life when his miss-timed shot to mid-on was parried but couldn't be held by Haidar Raza who was stationed there.  Chadha going on to make 51 before retiring was critical to his side being able to post 114.  Aside his knock, only McCorkindale (26) got past 6.  22 gifted in extras, added to Chadha's knock, in letting Accies post a defendable total. 

The 'Loc's reply was started by Hasan Malik and Hassaan Mehmood.  And they scored freely at the top of the innings, 30 for 0 after five overs becoming 58 for 1 - Malik (26) having chipped a catch to Chadha at cover - at the halfway point.  However Hassaan and new partner Elliot Moffat couldn't really "kick on" from this point, and overs eleven to fifteen saw just 23 runs added, a 30-ball period that saw fourteen dot balls recorded.  In all no fewer than 67 dot balls - out of 120 legitimate deliveries bowled - would be recorded, and this really cost the side.  Also relevant was Accies' ability to gift fewer extras: the 'Loc's 22-run present not being matched, Accies conceding just 14.  8 fewer extras and 8 fewer dot balls and,.....yup, you're right: Poloc win.  But it wouldn't be, and after Hassaan Mehmood departed for 35 (51), late scurrying between the weeks couldn't see the side catch up quickly enough.  And so, finishing on 104 for 6, the Under 15s went down by 11 runs.

Rained off [posted 06/05/19]

Unfortunately, afternoon rain washed out this evening's Under 12 match against East Renfrewshire.  Hopefully the match will be re-arranged. 

Archived junior match reports

You can read earlier, and prior season, junior match reports online in our archive too. 

Junior membership

The coaching provided by the club for juniors is free-of-charge, and young people attending do not have to become club members unless they want to.  The club, however, welcomes new junior members.  The related application and consent forms can be downloaded for completion direct from the website.

Club-based junior coaching

"Open-to-all" coaching

Outdoor junior coaching

Under the umbrella of the "Community Coaching Initiative", this takes place on Thursday evenings at the club between late April and early September.  Under 12s (as at 1 September in the previous year) between 6.30pm and 7.30pm, with Under 14s and Under 16s between 6.30pm and 8pm.  Older players practice along with seniors.

The club's registered juniors number around 50 and are regularly updated as to what's going on for them at the club and encouraging them to get along to these outdoor practices.

As with senior practice, sessions, whenever practical, involve "nets" although teaching of the basics of the game is given a high priority. as such, genuine "beginners" are welcome along on any of the juniors evenings with children of both sexes, and as young as seven years old, taking part.  The use of "Kwik Cricket" facilitates safe play for even the youngest children.

Indoor junior coaching

After the end of the traditional summer playing season, coaching moves indoor with the facilities of Hutchesons' Grammar School Sports Hall being utilised.  Indoor coaching sessions are advertised here on the website and are normally on weekends.

Junior coaching is co-ordinated by Junior Convenor Keith Young with the assistance of other registered coaches.  The club's overseas players/coaches also play a central role in junior coaching.

Interested parents and/or children can find out more about junior coaching by contacting Keith Young and/or the club directly. the club's contact details can be found on the Contact us section of the website, Keith Young can be contacted directly on 07802-951913, or by email.