Two of Bermuda’s cricket stars, Delray Rawlins and Kamau Leverock, are playing their part in developing future cricketers for the island during the school holidays.

Rawlins has been a consistent part of the Bermuda Cricket Board Axis Howzat camp for youngsters aged 7 to 13, which runs until July 28, but he was joined this week by Leverock, with Damon Edwards the other coach on hand.

The Bermuda captain was a beneficiary of such initiatives when he was growing up and has tried to make the camp as entertaining as possible for the young players.

“I've been here from Day 1,’’ Rawlins said.

“I was with coach Edwards at first and then coach Leverock came in. I think the three of us will do the last three weeks. It’s been a lot of fun so far and we've actually had a lot of kids that want to get involved because its been so much fun. People’s brothers and sisters are coming down, so we are trying to make it as fun as possible and make sure everyone enjoys themselves, learns some new skills. Obviously, they do a bit of swimming, but it’s all about enjoyment and learning.

“I had the same opportunities, similar people that were in my position and Kamau’s position, people that were playing for the national team and the coaches. It’s nice to be on the other end, I guess.

“It’s a sense of enjoyment to pass on a little knowledge and you learn from the kids sometimes as well. They have different games and new ideas that they have as well, so I am learning myself and hopefully passing on some knowledge to them. Hopefully, they have long memories of it similar to me.”

Rawlins is pleased by what he sees in the youngsters, with the hope that they are not lost from the sport in the future.

“There is a lot of talent,” he said. “Week in, week out around the island, it is great to see the young boys and girls playing the way they are and it’s pretty exciting.

“You just hope that they stick around and they continue to play the sport. Obviously, us as the national team, our job is to inspire and hopefully we can inspire this generation to want to grow up and do what we’re doing.”

Kellie Smith, the BCB chair of the development programme for youth, women and girls, is the camp director and is impressed by the number of youngsters eager to acquire more knowledge about the game.

“Every year, we are oversubscribed with our numbers,’’ Smith said.

“Kids really want to learn cricket. We have some kids that come in to us from 7 right until they exit at the age 13.

“Today we had 27 kids and some are signed up for the entire four weeks. Some kids come for one week, it’s all up to the individual parents as to what they want.

On the aim of the camp, Smith said: “The introduction of cricket, we also introduce the fundamentals of cricket, discuss cricket etiquette, character building, respect for the game and being good citizens on and off the pitch, so that’s a big piece for us that we work on with the children as well.”

An arrangement has been made for the youngsters to play matches against those being mentored by Clay Smith at St George’s. On Tuesdays, the fixtures are at Warwick and the action switches to St George’s on Thursdays, with that plan in place until the conclusion of the camp.

“We split up the kids, even some of the younger ones, we create teams and then we have the beginners play together,’’ Smith said.

“We play one another so that the kids can use some of the skills that they learn during the camp through matches.”