Around 1,500 kids enjoyed a trip to the cricket this week thanks to the Kent Cricket Board and Kent Cricket.

Supported by Chance to Shine as part of National Cricket Week, every Chance to Shine school across the county were invited to bring their pupils to come down and watch the climax to Kent’s County Championship game against Derbyshire at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in Canterbury.

In all, over 50 schools accepted the invitation and that meant over 1,500 pupils got the chance to watch their heroes take to the field whilst having the opportunity to pick up autographs from the Kent squad.

Thanks to the work of the Kent Cricket Board, over 70,000 children have benefited from the Chance to Shine school cricket campaign and this week the ones at Canterbury had the chance to enjoy cricket sessions from the qualified coaches.

The school that displayed the highest levels of ‘spirit of cricket’ were awarded with an MCC Spirit of Cricket Shield, and following some very amusing chanting and some creative usage of thundersticks throughout the afternoon, the eventual winners were Brompton Academy, Gillingham.

Chairman of Kent Cricket Board and Kent Cricket CEO, Jamie Clifford commented on the success of the day; “Schools’ Day has been a fantastic event. We hosted 1,500 young people at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence. Many were watching first class cricket for the first time.”

“We hope that everyone had a super day and that this is the start of the cricket bug for life.”

“Chance to Shine is a wonderful campaign and I am extremely pleased to see so many young people with such a keen interest in cricket.”

Meanwhile, Andy Griffiths from the Kent Cricket Board remarked on what had been an extremely successful day at the ground:

“It’s been mainly primary school kids and they’re the ones we want to get to. They’ve all had a bat and a bowl and they’ve all enjoyed themselves.”

“Last year we got to about 70,000 kids and around 220 schools, so we will look to maintain that this year and maybe increase it next year.”

“It’s not all about cricket though as we look to hone their motor skills and create the next generation of athletes.”

You can learn about the work the Kent Cricket Board do at their website – www.kentcricketboard.co.uk