Dubbo North Public School students recently participated in four Woolworths Cricket Blast programs

Year three and four students at the school were participants in several Woolworths Community Fund sessions run by Cricket NSW with help from teachers.

Cricket Manager for Far West NSW Matt Ellis said the sessions were a big success and he hopes the kids consider taking up cricket outside of school.

"The students and teachers were highly engaged throughout the sessions and there was an obvious improvement in the skill level of participants throughout," he said.

"Most importantly, the children had fun playing cricket and my hope is that these students will be inspired to love and play the game as a result."

The idea behind the sessions was to give the 50 students the opportunity to learn how to bat, bowl, catch and throw, with the four skills crucial to the game.

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Only a handful of the students had played some form of organised cricket prior to the four sessions but there is hope more players join club sides going forward with the Dubbo and District Junior Association Woolworths Cricket Blast competition being held on a Thursday afternoon.

All of the local clubs have sides in the Thursday afternoon competition with players getting a chance to learn the game in a fun and easy way, with games taking less than an hour in most cases.

Players also receive coaching from people outside of their club during the program, with several mentors down at Lady Cutler on Thursdays to lend a hand.

Cricket Australia Senior Participation Community Cricket and Capability James Quarmby believes the program will help kids stay active this summer.

"The Woolworths Community Fund is a joint initiative between Dettol, Woolworths and Cricket Australia which enables a free cricket program for participants who traditionally would not have access to the game," he said.

"The Bare Foot Blast Dubbo program has benefitted enormously with 50 children participating from a culturally and linguistically diverse community and enjoying the program's healthy lifestyle benefits."

Woolworths Community Fund cricket program is run by local associations for children aged between five and 10 regardless of their ability.

Anyone who is interested in registering their child can find more information on the Play Cricket website or get in touch with a local club to register through them.

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