The Enniskillen Kwik Cricket squads travelled to the N.I Finals in Stormont last week with the teams comprising a selection of boys and girls from the Model Primary School, Maguiresbridge Primary and Lisbellaw Primary.

The boys got off to a good start when they faced Killinchy and chased down the 284 in the last over finishing up on 287 to win the match.

They then faced Kings Park and had a more comfortable margin of victory posting 279 to Kings Parks 238. In the final group game they faced Antrim with Antrim posting a competitive 272 but the boys kept the heads and posted 283 to go into the semi finals unbeaten.

Unfortunately it was to be the end of a fantastic string of results and in semi finals they lost to a strong Inchmarlo side who posted 291 with our boys finishing up on 234.

Over to the girls, who started strongly and beat Donemana by 240 to 226. They then faced Portadown and again eased past the opposition with some smart batting chasing a tricky low score of 205.

In the semi-final they played a blinder and beat Ballymacash by 263 to 222. This brought the girls into the finals for the second year in a row.

Unfortunately the girls lost out narrowly scoring 228 with Christie Memorial finishing up on 244. It must be said that coach Stephen Maxwell was far from impressed by some of the umpiring in the final and felt that the run of the decisions did not go for our girls.

Speaking after coach Maxwell enthused; “I think It needs to be said how big a deal this is, many people don’t get to make it to N.I finals never mind finish in the semi-finals and in the finals it is a remarkable achievement and both teams should be extremely proud of themselves!

“They have been two remarkable sets of teams, it has been a pleasure to develop and work with them and in end to have seen them blossom from day one into fine cricketers,” said Stephen.

He added: “A massive thank you to all the support we received on the day and to Enniskillen Cricket Club sponsor The Enniskillen Hotel (David Cadden) providing t-shirts for the both teams and the coaching staff. Also a big thank you to Steve McBride Trophies for providing the superb medals.”

Stephen concluded by saying that this is not the end for some of the young cricketers.

He revealed: “For many that’s the end of the cricket however for the first time ever we will be sending a select group of eight boys up to NW Warriors trials in Bready on Sunday. This is a monumental achievement following up on an excellent N.I Finals.

“We have been striving to get talent noticed in our region for a long time and it’s a testament to all the hard work local coaches have done. But credit must not only go the coaches, but also to then many local schools like Maguiresbridge, Model Primary, Lisbellaw, Newtownbutler, Queen Elizabeth II and Brookborough who are all taking on cricket seriously and we are seeing the bar being raised and the standard improved every year. We have put over 160 kids through our skills programs and are always looking to add more schools to our roster. With fantastic opportunities and pathways opening up for children to take cricket on now being presented to us this is a prime time to get involved in the sport.”