Published on: Thursday, July 14, 2022

The King’s College Cricket Festival is all set to start on the afternoon of Sunday 17 July. Twelve teams will be arriving ready to play, and from then until 19 August there will be six games taking place each day.

Since it first began over 30 years ago, the King’s Festival has grown into one of the biggest and best-known tournaments, not just in England but internationally.

This year Keith Parsons is in charge, and with a few days to go, the former Somerset CCC favourite said: “I must admit it was a pretty daunting prospect when I started, but after a lot of hard work and the great support I have received, we are now looking forward to getting the cricket underway. Let’s hope the sun shines, and everyone who comes along has a good time playing cricket."

Parsons went on: “This year, we have started a Girls Under 13 festival, and this is something that we will undoubtedly be looking to extend in the future. In week two, there will be eight girls Under 13 teams playing a mixture of 20 and 35 overs games, and to help us accommodate them all, we will also be using the excellent facilities up at King's Hall.

"This year, Somerset will be sending along their Under 13 girls’ team as well as the Boys Under 10, 11 12 and 13s. It’s great to have the Somerset teams back playing at King’s after the Covid break."

“This is the first year that King’s has taken overall charge of the festival, so there has been a lot to learn as it is such a big event, but all the parts are falling into place, and the cricket will start next week.

“We all know that at some stage during the five weeks, the weather is going to stop play, but there are several indoor facilities we can use at King’s, plus Somerset CCC and the Somerset Cricket Museum are not too far away so the players can go and have a look round.

Parsons added: “This year, we are also having a tented village with gazebos and a large marquee to house several companies, including a cricket scoreboard company, a tour company, Millichamp & Hall and Somerset County Sports have always supported the festival really well. In addition, there will also be a new ice cream company, so it’s not just the cricket that people can come along and enjoy.”

Entry is free, so everybody is invited to join us and watch tomorrow’s cricketing stars in action today!

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