da prosport bet： England fast bowler Matthew Hoggard will join 19 of the UK’s fastest youngbowlers who will be battling it out to win this year’s NatWest SpeedChallenge Final at Lord’s on Saturday (12 July)
ECB Media Release10-Jul-2003England fast bowler Matthew Hoggard will join 19 of the UK’s fastest youngbowlers who will be battling it out to win this year’s NatWest SpeedChallenge Final at Lord’s on Saturday (12 July).The young cricket stars, who have also won a day’s coaching with an Englandplayer, will compete for the title of the Fastest Young Bowler in their agecategory (Under 18, Under 15 and Under 12, girls and boys).Now in its second year and with over 5,000 kids taking part this year, TheNatWest Speed Challenge is a nationwide competition searching for thefastest young bowlers. The NatWest Speed Challenge competition has formedpart of the NatWest Interactive Tour that has visited towns, cities, cricketclubs as well as selective matches in The NatWest Challenge and The NatWestSeries between May and July this year.At each venue kids have had the opportunity to record the speed of theirfastest delivery under the guidance of ECB coaches. All the results havebeen displayed on www.natwest.com/cricket enabling the kids to check theirspeed and position in the competition. The fastest four kids in each of thethree age categories – Under 18, Under 15 and Under 12, boys and girlsqualified for The NatWest Speed Challenge Final.Matthew Hoggard, England and Yorkshire fast bowler, will be joining thefinalists on the Nursery ground at Lord’s to offer them advice andencouragement in their training on Friday afternoon and before thecompetition gets underway at 10am on Saturday.The kids will have three chances to record their fastest delivery to claimthe title in their age category. Matthew Hoggard and England Women’sCaptain, Clare Connor will present the winners with their medal and a batsigned by all three teams competing in this year’s NatWest Series.Steve Day, Head of Brand Strategy, NatWest said: “Grassroots cricket isfundamental to the success and future of the sport and we are delighted thatThe NatWest Speed Challenge competition has been such a success once again,with over 5,000 kids taking part this year.”The NatWest Speed Challenge is part of a major grassroots campaign toencourage and develop children’s interest in the sport. NatWest haveinvested over £1/2 million over three years in a series of grassrootsinitiatives including the distribution of 800 flicx pitches and 10,000skills balls to schools and clubs across the UK and the newly NatWestsponsored Inter Cricket programme.The NatWest Speed Challenge Finalists 2003 are:
Under 12 Girls Under 12 BoysGeorgia Elwiss (Wolverhampton) Harry Wilson (Denmead, Hants)Laura Crofts (Rugby) Matthew Geffen (Chicester)Isobel Byrne (Sutton Coldfield) Louis Conradie (Canterbury)Under 15 Girls Under 15 BoysKathryn Hayes (Radcliffe, Manchester) Ahmed Hassan (Lytham St Anne's)Naomi Bygrave (Folkestone, Kent) Siraj Rafique (Barkenside, Essex)Vikki Vallance (Retford, Notts) Shahir Rahman (Wallington, Surrey)Eliza Smith (Laindon, Essex) Davies Chishimba (Bedminster, Bristol)Under 18 Girls Under 18 BoysHeather Willey (Northampton) Dean Smith (Bourne, Lincolnshire)Lydia Fenny (Wokingham, Berks) Joseph Goreira (Croydon, Surrey)Christopher Rainger (Edenbridge, Kent)