York Town Primary School continued its winning ways after defeating Polly Ground Primary by 36 runs at the school’s playing field in Polly Ground District, St Catherine, recently.

York Town were winning their third-straight match in the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket at the parish level.

Polly Ground batted first and made 50-5, while York Town made 93-6 in their turn at the crease and in 10 overs.

York Town Primary have won all three matches to date, and will play Time and Patience Primary School in a ‘top-of-the-table’ clash next week Tuesday at Time and Patience District in St Catherine.

Cleveland Graham, coach of York Street, was very happy for the win and promised to take his team all the way to the festival in April. He also said the kids look forward to playing the game, including the girls.

The schools play intra parish then inter parish matches, after which the top eight schools face off at the cricket festival, which is scheduled for April 7 at Sabina Park. A national champion will be declared at the end of the festival.

Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket competition is a modified form of the game where each team faces 10 overs on a smaller field and shorter pitch (18 yards). In any one game, every player gets to bowl, field and bat. The fielders are rotated after each over and batsmen bat in pairs and face two overs, then a new pair comes to the crease. As part of the rule, all teams must include girls.

The competition now boasts 240 participating schools, with 16 per parish. Each parish has a designated Kiddy Cricket coach under the guidance of Philip Service, the West Indies territorial development officer for Jamaica.

Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket started in Jamaica in 2001 and has already exposed thousands of young children to the game of cricket in the modified form.

Since its inception, numerous players have gone on to represent their countries and the West Indies. Noted Kiddy Cricketers in Jamaica are Brandon King, who now represents Jamaica and will debut in the Caribbean Premier League later this year, and Jermaine Blackwood, who plays for the West Indies at the Test level.

The objective of Kiddy Cricket is to increase the number of youngsters in Jamaica and across the region that are exposed to the game and ultimately increase the interest in the game.