The 2017 cricket season starts on Saturday with the first round of the Tinker Cup.

Two ties are taking place with Hannan Law Crosby visiting Baker Tilly Cronkbourne and Peel and St John’s hosting the newly formed IoMCA Development XI, who this year will be captained by Mark Williams.

The latter side is to be made up of a selection of coaches playing alongside a majority of juniors who are training in the Isle of Man Cricket Association’s under-12 and u14 squads.

Both ties look to be challenging for the visiting teams as both Crosby and the Development XI are made up of a large number of junior players.

The work done by these younger players over the winter may not result in an upset, but it will certainly see some new faces on the pitch who have ability, youth and enthusiasm in abundance and will help drive Isle of Man cricket forward for years to come.

The season as a whole sees the same formats retained in senior cricket with the Saturday Premier League being extended to 15 fixtures and the Schools XI being replaced by the aforementioned Development XI.

Mid-week cricket is the same with the Forrester and Cain leagues being competed for and the traditional Blincoe and Cain Cups available to enter.

Junior cricket for under-nines up to u15s is always a focus and changes in team sizes along with shortened pitch and boundary sizes will see more inclusive, faster and competitive games.

These changes are novel in Europe but trialled and implemented in Australia.

Clubs participating in junior cricket are Castletown, Cronkbourne, Crosby, Finch Hill, Peel & St John’s and Ramsey.

Fixtures:

Saturday, April 22

Tinker Cup

Baker Tilly Cronkbourne

v Hannan Law Crosby

Peel & St Johns vs IoMCA Development XI

l If you are interested in taking up the sport visit iomcricket.co.uk for details on clubs or email [email protected]