Revised junior cricket formats having great impact

Western Region Junior Cricket Association (U11 only), Bendigo District Cricket Association (U11, U12, U14 & U16) and Cricket Albury Wodonga (U12 only) are the first Victorian associations to commit to the program, and have provided important feedback and outcomes.

The revised format is designed to ensure every child can experience the game in a way that works best with their age and physical development.

The data obtained from across Australian outlines that kids face more balls, can play more shots in more areas, take more wickets and field far more balls than in a traditional 11 a side, full-length pitch format.

Cricket Victoria is working closely with Cricket Australia to gather and review the recently captured information so that future adaptations can be made.
This work will culminate in the announcement of the junior formats for the 2017-18 season in late March 2017.

Watch how the new Junior Formats Pilot is going here.

Current State of Play
More balls in play, more action and better skill development. The preliminary results below (as at March 1, 2017) are focused on the average of the U10-U13 matches which represents 87% of the pilot.

MORE BALLS IN PLAY = MORE ACTION
• 23% less dot balls
• 22% more balls being hit by the batter
• Wides and no balls are reduced (contributing 31% less to the total score)
• 41% more runs off the bat per over
• 44% more wickets per over

BETTER SKILL DEVELOPMENT
• 61% more balls being bowled on a good length
• 21% more balls hit forward of the batter
• 10% more balls hit on the off side
• 62% more boundaries per over