01/07/2026
🏏 COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS: Inspiring the Next Generation! 🏏
Last Wednesday morning, Dollar CC hit the road (well, just across the way!) to team up with Strathdevon Primary School for a fantastic morning of community cricket on the Newfields artificial wicket! ☀️🏫
From 09:00 to 10:30, under beautiful blue skies and glorious sunshine, we welcomed 24 energetic P7 Leavers (both boys and girls) to introduce them to the greatest game on earth.
🧠 Trivia, Drills & A Bit of History!
Led by our young Australian protégé now resident in Clackmannanshire, A***n Gates (18), alongside Nicholas Schellenberg (18+), the pupils dived into a fast-paced, educational, and fun 90-minute session. We covered everything from:
📚 Cricket History: Fun facts about W.G. Grace and his legendary 44-season career!
🪵 The Basics: Learning what bales are, decoding fielding positions, discovering what type of wood a bat is made from, and learning how to take a guard.
🎯 Skills: Every single one of the 24 leavers got stuck in, having a proper go with both bat and ball using the soft balls and gear provided by DCC.
A***n—who was a massive inspiration to the kids after recently smashing a Man of the Match 51 not out on that very same wicket—ran the bowling drills, while N Schellenberg coached the batting end.
🏆 The Main Event: 12-a-Side Clash
We set up a short boundary and a landing zone with cones, brought out the traditional wooden stumps from the DCC shed, and played a cracking 4-over, 12-a-side match with a boy and girl proudly appointed as captains!
For many of the Leavers, this was their first time ever playing a match or stepping onto the Newfields wicket right by their school. Safe to say, the talent was unbelievable. In fact, these young sports stars held more catches in 90 minutes than the DCC did in our last two games at Newfields! 👀🤫
There is some serious sporting potential in this year group, and we truly hope to see a few of them taking up the game!
🇦🇫 A Special Connection to Refugee Week
To wrap up a special morning, we handed out some mini-Afghan flags and keyrings left over from our match against the Afghan Snow Leopards XI, which marked Refugee Week.
We shared the inspiring story of the Leopards' captain, Zainullah, who played on this exact same wicket last week, and detailed his incredible journey to successfully signing for the Scotland National Team! 🏴❤️
🔮 Looking Ahead
A huge thank you to the Strathdevon PE teacher and form teacher for having us. It was incredibly special for us to see these kids—many of whom we've known for years—enjoying the sport.
If the feedback is positive, DCC hopes to assist with another PE session in August/September for the new P7s, and again next June, encouraging them to come along and use the DCC nets. Our ultimate goal is to inspire and welcome the next generation of youth players in Clackmannanshire! 🪵✨
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