Cricket from the beaches of the Caribbean has taken off in Maidstone and beyond in a big way.

Calypso cricket - where the focus is on fun, flair and expression - is appealing to youngsters like never before.

The principles of the game - fast-paced, flamboyant shots, hard-hitting and skilful bowling variations - have become commonplace in modern cricket, particularly T20.

Leeds & Broomfield CC launched Calypso classes in 2020. They took off to such an extent that they now run sessions for other clubs under the Calypso Cricket Coaching banner, and have 12 camps lined up this summer.

Dan Creasey, the man behind it, was working at a cricket school in Sydney when he came up with the idea.

“I was watching TV one day and thinking about how to improve cricket coaching,” said Creasey.

“It was the Under-19 World Cup and there was a player called Shimron Hetmyer who started hitting the ball to all parts of the stadium, and the commentator said it looks like it’s Calypso cricket time. That’s when the penny dropped.

“It was a period when T20 was gaining momentum and it built from there.”

Creasey spent three years in Australia followed by a couple of months coaching in Sri Lanka before returning to the UK. Calypso cricket was soon on its way to Leeds & Broomfield.

“We saw a space where we could provide something in Maidstone, Medway and the Swale areas,” said Creasey.

“I was looking through some photos the other day and the first-ever camp there was me, George Davis and Ed Scrivens (fellow Leeds players) and we didn’t have any kit. But we had 20 kids and they loved it, and it was can we do more and more and more?

“Other clubs were then asking us to run coaching for them and we’ve taken over the performance side of it as well, so we can filter kids into area cricket programmes which then filters into Kent.

“When you arrive at the Calypso camps, the kids are there with their Hundred shirts on or their England One-Day shirts. It’s never the Test shirt, it’s always the colour and the fun.

“I didn’t find cricket that interesting when I was 10 or 11. I never really understood it.

“The whole idea behind Calypso was to make it as fun and engaging as possible, to get a bat in the kids’ hands and get them loving the game.

“That came from mine and George and Ed’s personalities. It’s just energy all the time. We do different games and competitions all day.”

The next target for Calypso Cricket is to find an indoor venue for the winter months. They’ve put the feelers out and it’s something they would love to bring to the area.

“My goal is to keep the cost as low as possible for families,” said Creasey. “The problem in the winter is when you have to hire halls which cost a lot of money.

“Our next goal is to get an indoor centre, something like a disused barn that we could use in the winter months to run small-group coaching and one-to-ones. We’ve got a few people scouting around.”

For summer camp dates and to book, visit calypsocricketcoaching.com