Hertfordshire Cricket

Overview

Young Antlers is the start of the Hertfordshire Boys Talent Pathway. The programme is for boys U10-U12 (School Years 5-7) and is open to all players who have experienced (or are at least ready for) hard ball cricket and have played a minimum of one season of competitive cricket at a Hertfordshire based club. Players need to be able to meet all the fundamental skills of cricket (ie bowl consistently with a straight arm) and have a knowledge of the rules of cricket.

There is no requirement for a club nomination or trial.

We will initially allocate the players to groups based on their age and monitor their progress over the course of the winter. Players who join the programme but do not demonstrate the skills required, as defined by the TDF, may not be invited to continue.

Qualification

As Young Antlers is the start of our Talent Pathway players must qualify by playing (for the preceding season) for a cricket club within Hertfordshire which is also affiliated to Hertfordshire Cricket.

Players are not permitted to be taking part in, or trialling for, any other County Early Engagement programmes (including County Age Groups; Middlesex district / borough; Essex area; Beds Hotshots; Bucks junior Pathway).

Where centres are oversubscribed priority will be given to children who attend a Hertfordshire State School and live within Hertfordshire. This is in line with increasing the diversity of the of the talent pathway; diversity in this context refers to ethnicity, socio economic factors, schooling, and the source of recruitment.

Winter Programme

All sessions last 55 minutes to allow for changeover between groups; early groups (mainly for younger players) will start at 6 / 6:30pm and later groups (for older players) will start at 7 / 7:30pm. We are sorry but parents cannot decide which group their son attends. This will be decided by the coaches and will take into account how many players we have per age group.

Autumn Term 1- Indoor Sports Halls

• Monday - Rickmansworth School, Rickmansworth (U10s, U11s and U12s)
• Monday – Leventhorpe School, Sawbridgeworth (U11s and U12s)
• Tuesday – Chancellors School, Brookmans Park, Potters Bar (U10s and U11s)
• Wednesday – Kingshott School, Hitchin (U10s, U11s and U12s)
• Wednesday – Rickmansworth , Rickmansworth (U12s only)
• Thursday – Verulam School, St Albans (U10s and U11s)
• Thursday – Chancellors School, Brookmans Park, Potters Bar (U12s only)
• Saturday – Verulam School, St Albans (U12s only)

Application

Price: £129 includes £20 HCCA Membership for 2025/26

Click here for the Young Antlers Application form

No payment is required at the time of application. If your child is allocated a place you will be sent a confirmation email. We cannot guarantee all applicants will be offered places as some venues are oversubscribed each year; any player we cannot offer a space to due to oversubscription will be place on our waiting list for winter 2025/26.

Financial Support

To support the development of young talented players, to whom the potential cost of being part of Hertfordshire Young Antlers Programme may present financial challenges, the following is available.
Those players who are eligible for free school meals will be able to apply for a full bursary.
Players not eligible for free school meals but experiencing financial challenges can apply to the Early Engagement Support Fund.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Term and Conditions for our winter bookings can be found here
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hertfordshire Cricket
July 2025