First draft made for cricket’s new Midland Madness
The draft for The Midland Madness, a new 100-ball competition for local cricketers, has been completed – with more than 60 people attending.
The tournament, created by the charity The Whistle Foundation, allows cricketers of all abilities the opportunity to play coloured-ball cricket – while raising money.
And the teams have been selected using an American Football style draft system, with the first picks taking place at Himley Cricket Club on Thursday evening.
Captains of the Jets, Raiders, Bears, Mavericks, Vikings and Titans were tasked with compiling their squads for the competition.
Jamie Lunn, co-founder of The Whistle Foundation, has been delighted by the interest in the tournament – and how successful its first draft was.
“It went well for our first year. To get 90 players registered was great,” said Lunn.
“I was pleased with the number of people who came, and quite a few others tuned in online too.
“Hopefully, we can raise money to facilitate some disability cricket sessions.
“I can’t wait to see all the players in their playing kit with charity logo on, and that is why we do it.
“It will be really satisfying.”
Each side will play against each other once, and the top four teams will progress to a finals day.
Captain of the Vikings and all-rounder at Beacon Cricket Club, Jake Cartwright, thought the evening was a huge success.
He said: “The evening was so well organised, credit to the lads from The Whistle Foundation.
“The draft worked so well, I haven’t seen it much before, but it made it a really intriguing spectacle.
“It is something new that has not been done around here, and it is intriguing.
“The charity is growing and the work these lads do is massive.
“The cricket branch of the charity is its biggest method of fundraising, and this is by far their biggest idea to date.
“I can’t wait for the competition, it is so exciting.”
The other captains include Silverdale’s Alex McChristie, Himley’s Ben Robinson, Bromsgrove all-rounder Connor Smith, Nathan Howell from Wombourne and Matt Bowen of Himley.
The tournament will run throughout the summer and details about fixtures will be announced soon.
