New gear for kids

Rarotonga primary school students are going to get another healthy dose of cricket this year with $7000 worth of gear now on the island ready for the start of the school year and the ANZ in schools cricket programme.

The gear, sponsored by the ANZ Bank, includes 60 plastic bats, 80 rubber balls, 80 sets of wickets and 40 new technology protective pads.

The Cook Islands Cricket Association is grateful to ANZ Bank for its generosity.

CICA general manager Alister Stevic says while the gear will be mainly for the junior focused cricket programme, it will also be shared with the women’s cricket clubs and teams.

ANZ’s Chris Wicks says that the bank has always made a point of supporting sports in the community and after a year of visible change and improvement in the cricket association in 2009, ANZ were only too happy to support the code.

In fact, the bank also sponsors junior sports development in tennis and rugby.

The ANZ in schools cricket programme will re-launch in mid February with another six schools signed on to take part.

Stevic is also proud to announce that the junior cricket development programme will expand to outer islands schools this year.

“We really would like to acknowledge the efforts that the Cook Islands Cricket Association put into promoting the game of cricket and development at the junior level,” says Wicks.

“Junior development programmes are, and always have been, the feeder for senior teams and CICA has done a fantastic job of lifting the profile of both junior and senior players.”