Instead of encouraging its players to stay active and play sport in the off season, the club forces the children to forgo their right to play in cricket finals to play football practice matches instead.

These children, teammates and coaches put hundreds of hours of practice and time into the cricket season to make it to the finals, only to have the Pioneers give them the ultimatum of forgoing the finals to play a practice game or maybe lose their place in the Pioneers team.

This is an unfair ultimatum and shows no respect for the cricket player, coach, team, league or game. Surely encouraging them to play in their cricket final and allowing them and their team to achieve full potential would be to the advantage of all, certainly the children.

NEIL BROWELL,

Lockwood