Loads has been happening behind the scenes to prepare for 2026, starting with our Junior Cricket Open Day on Sunday 19 April from 10.00am to 12.00pm for players in reception up to year 8 for boys and year 9 for girls.

Existing and prospective junior players are welcome to come along, train with our experienced team of ECB qualified coaches in age appropriate groups of soft and hardball players.

There is no charge for training, hardball kit for those new to hardball can be borrowed and players should wear layers, comfortable sportswear and bring a water bottle.

Just after mid-day, we will officially open the new hard nets with a very special guest: Beckenham, Kent and England alumnus Rob Key (himself a Junior at Foxgrove in the late 80s and 90s!) and now with a massive job as Managing Director of England cricket.

We will thank the sponsors and donors who made the new nets possible, and celebrate the first balls being bowled and struck in the nets this season.

A breakfast BBQ running all morning and early afternoon will serve bacon, sausage and vegetarian rolls on sale. The pavilion will be open for coffee, tea, drinks and snacks as well.

After the nets are open, from 1.00pm we will run training for U15s (boys in years 9 and 10 and girls years 10 and 11) and U17s (boys in years 11 and 12, girls years 12 and 13). If we have access to the square - weather permitting - we may even get a game in!

Work on the new nets was scheduled to start in early January to be ready by mid-March, however, the endless rain in England for the first seven weeks of 2026, meant heavy equipment could not access the site and so work was delayed until the start of March.

Currently all the reseeding of the pitch and boundary running up to and around the nets means the nets are currently inaccessible and will be ready on Open Day.

Finally, 2026/7 Junior Membership (for existing and new members) is currently available to buy on Pitchero using this link. https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/beckenhamcricketclub2/payments/category/membership

Official Junior training starts from Sunday 26 April at the usual times - details appear in members' online calendars. Weekday training for hardball players by age group also start with U11s on Monday 27 April in the evening (check online calendars for timings).

League matches for Juniors are being scheduled across North Kent home and away now and will be published shortly, so lots to look forward to!