WALKING Cricket is gathering pace in Sedgemoor and across Somerset and following three months of events hosted by Highbridge Walking Cricket Club on behalf of Somerset Cricket Foundation, the conclusion recently took place at the YMCA Highbridge.

There were other walking cricketing activities including Women’s only coaching sessions, Open Come and Play sessions and a Competitive League programme.

This year’s competitive league featured teams from the Yeovil, Weston, Taunton, and Highbridge Hubs, competing over a three-month period in a round-robin format, with every team playing against one another in a bid to top the league table.

In Round One Highbridge beat Yeovil, who also then beat Taunton. In Round Two Weston narrowly beat Taunton, before then going onto to defeat Highbridge.

The final round of matches saw Yeovil face Weston and Highbridge take on Taunton and heading into the last round, three teams were still in contention for the title, making for an exciting finish.

In the finale Weston beat Yeovil and Highbridge were too strong for Taunton , results which confirmed Weston-super-Mare as the overall champions.

The Mayor of Burnham and Highbridge Town Council, Cllr Sharon Perry, alongside John Davey, a Life Member SCCC and cricketing stalwart in the community, presented Weston with the winners’ medals and the Somerset Cricket Foundation Walking Cricket League Cup, while Highbridge received the runners-up medals.

Event organizer and Lead Volunteer Mark Berry from the Highbridge Hub extended his gratitude to all participating teams, with over fifty players taking part throughout the competition. Special thanks were also extended to the following - The Highbridge YMCA for their support especially Sharron Buckley and the team from Purple Spoon Café. The Umpires: Mark Adamson, John Perry, Fraser Campbell, Ray Cavill, and Mark Banczyk-Gee. The Highbridge Hub volunteers for their work in setup, scoring, and logistics and the Lead volunteers across the county for coordinating participations at various events. Sponsors for the League Competition Rajpoot Indian Restaurant and Home Science International Food in Taunton.

Mustafa Shaikh, the community activation officer, on behalf of the Somerset Cricket Foundation, would like to thank everyone for their hard work and support in making these events such a success. He said: “It was an amazing series of events led by a dedicated team of volunteers across the county in conjunction with the Highbridge team.

“Walking cricket is gathering pace in the Sedgemoor area and across the county. We have ten indoor hubs and three outdoor clubs. We are planning to continue to support the development of walking cricket in the Sedgemoor area including more women only sessions and potentially another hub in Bridgwater at the YMCA. We are also encouraging cricket clubs across the county to consider setting up outdoor club hubs in the summer months thus adding an important social dimension to club environments.”

In addition to the league competition, the Somerset Cricket Foundation hosted two Women’s Only Walking Cricket sessions, attended by twenty-four players from hubs across Somerset. These sessions were led by coaches Emily Vickery and Liz Edwards from the Somerset Cricket Foundation, with special guest Laura Jackson, who plays professionally for the county, attending the second session and joining in the fun.

For more information and support regarding Walking Cricket in Somerset contact Mustafa Shaikh at [email protected] or call 07385818493.