Warranwood Sharks
Frequently Asked Questions
How old do I have to be to play?
No, its not a trick question. The obvious answer is that you can be any age to play cricket. But here we
are trying to answer the question relating to the age group of a particular kind of junior cricket, e.g.
Under 12s, or Under 14s etc.
Before we answer this question, the answer will be a general guide. There can always be exceptions.
For example, a 9 year old could play Under 16s...perhaps if his name is Don Bradman!!!
And a 12 year old could play Mini Bash (Under 10s) if that is the appropriate grade for that player's ability
(e.g. they are just starting to play). We may have to apply for a permit in this instance.
But the answer, in general, is as follows:
The key is a players age as at the 1st of September in the year in which a Season starts. For example, to
play Under 12s in the 2020/2021 Season the criteria relates to a player's age as at 1st September 2020.
| Competition | Males | Females |
| Mini Bash | 9 years or under | 11 years or under |
| Under 12s | 11 years or under | 13 years or under |
| Under 14s | 13 years or under | 15 years or under |
| Under 16s | 15 years or under | 17 years or under |
| Girls Under 12s | 11 years or under | |
| Girls Under 15s | 14 years or under |
Junior Blasters? Master Blasters? Mini Bash?
How old do I have to be to play?
No, its not a trick question. The obvious
answer is that you can be any age to play
cricket. But here we are trying to
answer the question relating to the age
group of a particular kind of junior
cricket, e.g. Under 12s, or Under 14s etc.
Before we answer this question, the
answer will be a general guide. There
can always be exceptions. For example,
a 9 year old could play Under
16s...perhaps if his name is Don
Bradman!!!
And an 12 year old could play Mini Bash
(Under 10s) if that is the appropriate
grade for that player's ability (e.g. they
are just starting to play). We may have
to apply for a permit in this instance.
But the answer, in general is as follows:
The key is a players age as at the 1st of
September in the year in which a Season
starts. For example, to play Under 12s in
the 2020/2021 Season the criteria relates
to a player's age as at 1st September 2020
Junior Blasters?
Master Blasters?
Mini Bash?
Master Blasters?
Mini Bash?
This is a case of answering your question with a series of questions. But it's a case of how much cricket
is your child/children ready for? It's a question of availability, ability, maturity, concentration and
sometimes how many children you have.
Availability? When is your child available to train and/or play?
At Warranwood, Junior Blasters is run on Friday evenings and/or Sunday mornings
Master Blasters is run on Thursday evenings
Mini Bash players train on Monday afternoons and play on Friday evenings
Ability? Can your child bowl a ball approx. 14 metres accurately?
If they can, they are pretty much ready for Mini Bash
If they throw the ball, or the ball often lands off the pitch, or rolls along the pitch, then you should
consider Junior Blasters or Master Blasters?
Maturity? Concentration?
The 3 forms of cricket involve playing for a different length of time.
Junior Blasters sessions are one hour and made up of 3-4 activities and/or games. And each child is kept
involved for most of the time
Master Blasters and Mini Bash are both actual games of cricket. A Master Blasters session is approx. 90
minutes, whilst a Mini Bash game is over 2 hours. Your child will need to concentrate for a longer period
of time, including periods when they are not actively involved in the game, e.g. when our team is
batting, but its another player's turn.
How many children do you have?
Why does this make a difference? Well firstly, its usually the parents who are the taxi. If you have
more than one child playing and they play different forms of cricket, you may find it difficult to get them
to, or pick them up from games. You may even have another child participating in another sport or
activity they may create similar time pressures.
Sometimes when you have 2 children of similar age groups it is tempting to put them into the same
activity or team. But this isn't always the best thing for them. You may be holding one child back in a
lower grade of cricket and the result is that they become bored. Or you may be pushing one child to
quickly and they are unable to keep up.
And it isn't unknown for the younger child to over-shadow their older sibling? Will the older child cope if
their younger sibling shows them up?
The one thing we can say is that we will try to be flexible and to assist you in any way to chose the best
level of cricket for your children. This might involve some "come and try" experience, or finding a
flexible way for you to train (when the 'normal' night doesn't suit you).
When do we play? When do we train?
Training dates will be finalised as we get closer to the Season. It is normally based on the availability of Coaches. The table below shows the playing and training days for last Season (2019/20) as a guide.
| Competition | Training Day/Time | Playing Day/Time |
| Mini Bash | Monday 4.30pm to 6pm | Friday 4.45pm to 7.45pm |
| Under 12s | Wednesday 4.30pm to 6pm |
Friday 4.45pm to 8.30pm |
| Under 14s | Thursday 4.30pm to 6pm (See Note 1) |
Saturday 7.45am to 11.30am (See Note 3) |
| Under 16s | Thursday 4.30pm to 6pm (See Note 1) |
Saturday 7.45am to 11.30am |
| Girls Under 12s | Saturday 8am to 9am (See Note 2) |
Sunday 8.30am to 11.30am |
| Girls Under 15s | Saturday 8am to 9am (See Note 2) |
Sunday 8.30am to 11.30am |
Note 1. Under 14 and Under 16 players will often train with the Senior squad and may therefore train till later on Thursdays and/or may also attend Senior training on Tuesday
Note 2. The Girls who also play with the "boys" cricket teams may also train with those teams
Note 3. We are also looking to field an Under 14 team that plays on Friday nights (4.45pm to 8.30pm)
General note. The playing times include an approx. 30 minute warm-up period prior to the game
Note 2. The Girls who also play with the "boys" cricket teams may also train with those teams
Note 3. We are also looking to field an Under 14 team that plays on Friday nights (4.45pm to 8.30pm)
General note. The playing times include an approx. 30 minute warm-up period prior to the game
This is a case of answering your question
with a series of questions. But it's a case
of how much cricket is your
child/children ready for? It's a question
of availability, ability, maturity,
concentration and sometimes how many
children you have.
Availability? When is your child available
to train and/or play?
At Warranwood, Junior Blasters is run on
Friday evenings and/or Sunday mornings
Master Blasters is run on Thursday
evenings
Mini Bash players train on Monday
afternoons and play on Friday evenings
Ability? Can your child bowl a ball
approx. 14 metres accurately?
If they can, they are pretty much ready
for Mini Bash
If they throw the ball, or the ball often
lands off the pitch, or rolls along the
pitch, then you should consider Junior
Blasters or Master Blasters?
Maturity? Concentration?
The 3 forms of cricket involve playing for
a different length of time.
Junior Blasters sessions are one hour and
made up of 3-4 activities and/or games.
And each child is kept involved for most
of the time
Master Blasters and Mini Bash are both
actual games of cricket. A Master
Blasters session is approx. 90 minutes,
whilst a Mini Bash game is over 2 hours.
Your child will need to concentrate for a
longer period of time, including periods
when they are not actively involved in
the game, e.g. when our team is batting,
but its another player's turn.
How many children do you have?
Why does this make a difference? Well
firstly, its usually the parents who are the
taxi. If you have more than one child
playing and they play different forms of
cricket, you may find it difficult to get
them to, or pick them up from games.
You may even have another child
participating in another sport or activity
they may create similar time pressures.
Sometimes when you have 2 children of
similar age groups it is tempting to put
them into the same activity or team.
But this isn't always the best thing for
them. You may be holding one child
back in a lower grade of cricket and the
result is that they become bored. Or you
may be pushing one child to quickly and
they are unable to keep up.
And it isn't unknown for the younger child
to over-shadow their older sibling? Will
the older child cope if their younger
sibling shows them up?
The one thing we can say is that we will
try to be flexible and to assist you in any
way to chose the best level of cricket
for your children. This might involve
some "come and try" experience, or
finding a flexible way for you to train
(when the 'normal' night doesn't suit
you).
When do we play?
When do we train?
When do we train?
Training dates will be finalised as we get closer to the Season. It is normally based on the availability of Coaches. The table below shows the playing and training days for last Season (2019/20) as a guide.
Note 1. Under 14 and Under 16 players will often train with the Senior squad and may therefore train till later on Thursdays and/or may also attend Senior training on Tuesday
Note 2. The Girls who also play with the "boys" cricket teams may also train with those teams
Note 3. We are also looking to field an Under 14 team that plays on Friday nights (4.45pm to 8.30pm)
General note. The playing times include an approx. 30 minute warm-up period prior to the game
Note 2. The Girls who also play with the "boys" cricket teams may also train with those teams
Note 3. We are also looking to field an Under 14 team that plays on Friday nights (4.45pm to 8.30pm)
General note. The playing times include an approx. 30 minute warm-up period prior to the game
