BURY cricket development age group teams start the competitive season in earnest this week with the first matches in under-15s, u13s and u11s competitions.

The town are once again placed in the First Division of the Greater Manchester region and will face off against long-term rivals Wigan and Oldham, along with Bolton and Tameside.

The u13s squad will once again be coached and managed by the established partnership of John Stevens and Gareth Williams, from Greenmount, and will be looking to avenge their Hacking Cup final defeat last September at the hands of Manchester Central.

The team will be led by Greenmount's Lancashire all-rounder Evan Williams, who captained the county age group u12s squad to victory at the prestigious Taunton Championship last year.

Callum Hunter, a fast left-arm opening bowler and aggressive batsman, along with top-order batsmen Dan Stevens and Harry Singh, complete a quartet of Greenmount players from the county age-group squads from last year.

All four will represent Lancashire East at the LCB u13s Festival of Cricket at the end of this month.

Bury kick off their campaign with a trip to Oldham today, followed by local matches on Friday, May 19, at Stand and the following Friday at Unsworth, both start at 1pm.

A match against Bolton at Westhoughton has also been arranged for Friday, May 12.

The u15s have undergone an intense 10-week training programme over the winter, focusing on fitness, team building, and mental preparation as well as technical cricketing skills.

Their main aim of the season will be to challenge for the LCB U15s Ainsworth Trophy.

After playing their first match against Wigan at Leigh Cricket Club on Monday, their campaign will continue with Oldham at Stand today (11am), against Wigan at Ramsbottom on Tuesday (10.45am) and against Tameside at Bury on Tuesday May 16 (10.45am).

The u11s, meanwhile, will be going all out to win the LCB Bob Hurst Rose Bowl.

After friendlies against Wigan and Rochdale, the competitive action is due to start on Monday, May 15, when they take on Salford at Winton (11am).

Further games will be played against Bolton at Stand on Monday, May 22, Salford at Stand on Monday, June 12, and Oldham at Royton on Thursday, June 15. All matches will start at 11am.