How do I register my child and find a club?

1. Go to play.cricket.com.au (Cricket Australia's Play Cricket site) and use the Program Finder or Find a Club with your postcode. Junior competitions run in close to 100 locations across NSW.
2. Contact the club using the details listed on the site to confirm the right grade or age group, training nights and what your child needs for the first session. Clubs often have shared equipment, so a new player can come as they are.
3. Register through PlayHQ, the registration system used by clubs and competitions. For NSW Junior Community Cup matches, for example, a player must complete registration in PlayHQ before their first match of the season and cannot play for more than one team in the same season.
4. After you register, your club or competition confirms training times, match days and season dates.

Where to start by age: Woolworths Cricket Blast is Cricket Australia's entry program for kids up to 10, and junior club cricket is the next step. Most junior competitions start at Under 10 and run through to Under 18 in some areas. Outside metropolitan Sydney, junior cricket is administered through Country Cricket NSW.

Representative cricket: a parallel series of representative competitions, including the NSW Youth Championships, is merit based. Selection criteria are set by the local association competing, so ask your junior association about trials rather than registering for these directly.

Sources: cricketnsw.com.au/junior-community-cricket; play.cricket.com.au Junior Club Cricket page; NSW Junior Community Cup playing conditions.