This tournament uses an incrediball, so please bring plastic bats only, and a box if you wish. 'Keepers may bring gloves. Wear your blue Beckenham training / match shirts with blue or navy trousers or shorts. At the moment the weather is set fair, but please make sure you bring both sun cream and rain proof tops, preferably with hoods. Cricket grounds tend to be quite open to the elements! There is a BBQ and bar on site, but you are advised to bring plenty of fruit, water and snacks, plus anything you might want for lunch if burgers and hot dogs aren't your thing.

There will be 16 teams, divided in to 4 round robin pools. Within each pool, everybody plays everybody, with the top two teams qualifying for the cup and the bottom two the plate competitions.

This year, the competition is 8 players per team, 6 overs of 6 balls an over per innings. Bowlers bowl in sequence, 1 over each. The bowler who misses out in the first game bowls the first over of the next and the cycle restarts. Batters are out at the fall of a wicket, and bat in sequence, changing at the end of a match. So if you got 20/2 from your 6 overs, batters 5 and 6 open in the following game. A batter may return in the same match once the other wickets have been taken.

Given the games are so short, this is likely to be a very exciting, fast paced tournament, with the emphasis on bowling straight. With only 8 players including bowler and wicketkeeper, there will be gaps in the field, so running between the wickets, especially when the wicket keeper fumbles, will be key to winning many of the games. Sharp fielding and catching will be essential. Work out where the short boundaries are before you start a game, and defend and attack them.

One team from Bromley has withdrawn, so we are filling that place with a 3rd Beckenham team. As with all the matches, we rely heavily on parents to assist. Each team will require parents to manage, score and umpire the games, and then report results back.

Overall, this will be a great day, and a wonderful opportunity for the kids to develop new friendships and camaraderie with their team mates.

Managers will need to be there for a briefing at 08.30 which I will attend, but the games start at 09.00 sharp, and if you are late, you will be letting your team down, as they will be short on players.

Any questions, please let me know.

Thanks,

Tom