IN THIS ISSuE Glamorgan Gloucestershire Harrogate ... - Cricket Club

£3.50 

CC02-2010 

ecb—funding 

and facilities 

manager bruce 

cruse interviewed 

lashings 

world xi 

end of season 

gala dinner 

in this issue 

glamorgan 

CEO Alan Hamer 

interviewed 

gloucestershire 

A history... 

harrogate 

Looking forward to a new 

pavilion 

little stoke 

North Staffordshire and 

South Cheshire Premier 

League winners 

bridgwater 

Fantastic progress and a 

legend remembered 

holmbridge 

pushing for Clubmark 

accreditation 

bootle 

Huge changes over the 

last ten years 

cartmel 

Westmorland div 3 

league and cup winners 

...Wimborne and Colehill, Fylde, Cuckney, Sileby Town, Bedhampton Mariners, Wanstead & 

Snaresbrook, Belstone, Cookham Dean, Brixham, Finedon Dolben, Horspath, Belhus, Bashley Rydal, 

Ardleigh Green, Potterne, Spondon, St James Montefiore, Cheam, March Town, Harrogate, Billericay, 

Bournemouth, St Just, Middleton, Darwen, Colchester, Chesham, Falkland.

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CC02-2010 

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Publishers 

From The Editor 

In our latest and end of 

season issue we take a look 

at the factors that have 

brought success to clubs at 

various levels within the 

game. We get the view 

from the inside by 

speaking to a range of 

individuals best placed to 

give us the information on 

what shapes their 

establishments. We also 

find out what hopes they 

have for the future, and 

some of the biggest 

challenges clubs face into 

the next few years. 

Along with our usual 

range of positive club 

CONTENTS 

04 Wimborne and Colehill 

05 Fylde 

06 Glamorgan 

08 Cuckney 

10 Sileby Town 

11 Bedhampton Mariners 

12 Wanstead & Snaresbrook 

13 Belstone 

14 Firwood Bootle 

16 Cookham Dean 

18 Brixham 

19 Finedon Dolben 

20 Horspath 

21 Belhus 

22 Bashley Rydal 

24 Holmbridge 

26 Ardleigh Green 

27 Potterne 

28 Spondon 

profiles, check out some 

background on the 

Lashings World XI and 

goings on at their end of 

season gala dinner which 

took place at Lords this 

month. Finally, keep up to 

date with what’s available 

for cricket clubs by taking 

a look at our interview with 

the ECB’s Funding and 

Facilities Manager Bruce 

Cruse. They’ve a range of 

useful material and are 

more than happy to be of 

assistance. 

I hope you enjoy the 

magazine. 

29 St James Montefiore 

30 Cheam 

31 March Town 

32 Bridgwater 

35 Cartmel 

36 Harrogate 

38 E.C.B. 

43 Lashings 

44 Billericay 

46 Gloucestershire 

48 Bournemouth 

49 St Just 

50 Little Stoke 

52 Middleton 

53 Darwen 

54 Colchester 

56 Chesham 

58 Falkland 

Front cover images courtesy of Glamorgan County Cricket Club 

James Harris taking a wicket 

3

Wimborne and Colehill Cricket Club | Westering 

wimborne and colehill 

westering 

Giddylake, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 2QU 

T:01202 888298 E:john.ridout3@btopenworld.com W:http://www.wimbornecricketclub.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Wimborne & Colehill 

1st XI playing Dorset CCC 

In existence since the 

mid 1700’s, Dorset side 

Wimborne and Colehill 

originally played cricket at 

Pamphill green (Kingston 

Lacy). It then played at the 

old Hanhams ground from 

the mid 1800’s and has 

been at its sparkling new 

home ‘The Leaze’ since 

2010. 

John Ridout is their 

current Chairman and has 

been involved with the club 

since 1970. He spoke to 

Cricket Club Magazine last 

month and immediately 

recalled the early days. He 

said, “I remember my first 

wicket was taken with a 

dreadful long hop which 

was caught at square leg. 

Bizarrely my victim is still 

playing cricket and he was 

mature then! I have been 

Wimborne Cricket Club 

Shirt Sponsors 2010 Season 

club secretary, treasurer 

and have captained all club 

teams. I now skipper our 

third team which is based 

on our second ground at 

Colehill who, until they 

joined with us a few years 

ago, were our bitter rivals.” 

Although not as visible in 

the town anymore their 

new home provides a 

splendid setting for local 

cricket now and into the 

future. John added, 

“Physically we are very 

much in the centre of 

Wimborne, although we 

are not as visible on our 

new ground as on our old. I 

don’t think that our new 

ground has received 

anything less than praise 

from any visiting team and 

all are keen to come back. 

Perhaps some of our 

neighbours are less 

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Images courtesy of Wimborne & Colehill 

Mixed senior and youth 

favourable since they 

apparently enjoyed looking 

at a farmer’s field! Still, the 

local estate agent thinks 

that the new ground has 

enhanced the value of their 

property!” 

Like many progressive 

sides, youth cricket plays a 

major role. John explained, 

“It’s the only way to ensure 

the future of a club. You 

can buy short term success 

by buying in an overseas 

player or local star but the 

club needs to develop its 

own talent since a 

successful club is more 

than just its 1st XI. We 

currently run u9 through to 

u15. From u14 upwards we 

encourage the players to 

populate our senior teams, 

particularly the 3rd and 4th 

XI. However we have a 

number of under 20’s in our 

1st XI and that is good for 

the future. 

All our coaches have been 

sponsored through their 

ECB qualifications and we 

will continue to develop the 

home ground approach in 

future years. We have links 

with all the local schools 

and hope to develop these 

more formally in the next 

year through Chance2shine.” 

John is keen for a positive 

long term future and 

believes they have most 

things in place. He finished, 

“Although the ground and 

facilities looks great we did 

not attract many new 

players this season largely 

because no one could tell 

how the pitch would play. 

Now that this has proved to 

be an excellent track it is 

probable that some players 

may seek to join us. 

We have a number of 

good young players in our 

first XI and I’m sure that in 

another season perhaps 

one or two will attract the 

attention of the County. At 

younger age groups we 

have a number of players in 

the county age group sides. 

Our first team ended 7th 

in the Dorset Funeral Plan 

Premier League and we 

would love to win the 

Premier league into the 

next five years. We would 

also like to win a youth 

competition with our u15’s 

to prove that we are moving 

in the right direction. We 

hope to increase our 

membership, attract a 

Dorset minor County 3 day 

match and for our 

neighbours to enjoy having 

a cricket club near them.” 

Sponsors of Wimborne Cricket Club 

24 Cornwall Road 

Dorchester 

Dorset 

DT1 1RX 

Tel: +44 (0) 1305 265544 

Fax: +44 (0) 1305 260832 

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E-mail: advice@readwoodruff.com 

fylde 

moorland road 

Poulton le Fylde, Lancashire FY6 7EU 

T: 01253 895080 E: admin@fyldecc.co.uk W: www.fyldecc.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Fylde 

Fylde Cricket Ground 

James Mitchell is the 

President and has been 

with Fylde cricket club for 

50 years as a player and an 

administrator. Here he 

gives Cricket Club 

Magazine an insight into 

the rich history of a local 

league cricket club located 

just outside Blackpool in 

Lancashire. The clubs first 

recorded match was in 

1810. 

The Early Years 

“It is generally assumed 

that Fylde Cricket Club 

was formed way back in 

Napoleonic times. Despite 

exhaustive research no 

documentary evidence has 

been found to substantiate 

the fact, but the date 1810 

has been handed down 

over the years from 

generation to generation. 

Early minute books have 

survived and, from these, it 

is certainly possible to 

trace back to the 1850’s 

and before. The minute 

book provides some 

fascinating vignettes of a 

Victorian cricket club.” 

The Golden Decade 

“The first trophy the club 

won was in the early 70’s 

when Bill Robinson’s 

second team carried off the 

Loxham Cup. For the club 

in general the turning 

point came in 1985 with 

the winning of the Meyler 

Cup in a thrilling match at 

Springfield. Some fine 

new players had joined 

Fylde like Trevor Day, Jeff 

Wilkins, Steve Burnage 

and that colourful 

character Frank Ingham 

along with the return of 

Geoff Clarkson from a 

distinguished career with 

Blackpool and Lancashire 

second eleven joining the 

home-grown talent 

matured from the junior 

section.” 

The Ground 

“As far as can be traced 

Fylde has played on three 

home grounds. Blackpool 

Old Road appears to be 

the first on record leased 

from a Mr Hardman for £5 

per annum. This land was 

bought by a Mr Seed to 

accommodate a brick 

building business. He 

provided us with another 

ground in Elletson Street 

and a pavilion where we 

played until 1901 when we 

moved to Moorland Road. 

This plot of land is a 

history lesson in itself. 

Geoffery and Vera 

Farnworth, our present 

secretary and his wife, 

obtained the deeds 

recently and made 

copious notes which they 

lent to me. The field was 

leased by the crown 

(Queen Elizabeth the First 

in 1562) possibly to the 

Fitzherbert Brockholes a 

distinguished local family 

and has passed through 

various lease holders’ 

hands until 1946 when it 

was donated to the National 

Playing Fields Association 

(NPFA.) This state of affairs 

continued until 1976 when 

the ground was transferred 

by the NPFA to four 

trustees appointed by the 

club on the condition that 

the land could only be 

used for cricket. 

In 2000 an old stalwart of 

Fylde, Duggie Hill, 

dropped in to see us at the 

Meyler Cup final on a trip 

north. He had not been on 

the ground for thirty years 

4 5 

Fylde | Moorland Road 

and could scarcely believe 

his eyes at the changes - 

true of most of the Palace 

Shield clubs these days. 

He could not have chosen a 

better day with a good 

crowd, a fine day and the 

field and square looking 

superb.”. 

The Future 

-The modern day club 

benefits from a strong 

junior section which has 

just under 100 junior 

members between the 

ages of 7 to 17. The club 

also has teams playing in 

the Palace Shield junior 

cricket leagues at under 

10’s, under 11’s, under 13’s, 

under 15’s, and under 17’s. 

-Fylde has two club 

members who are in the 

Lancashire teams at under 

15 and under 17.

Glamorgan | SWALEC Stadium 

glamorgan ccc 

swalec stadium 

Cardiff CF11 9XR 

T:029 2040 9380 E: joan@glamorgancricket.co.uk W: www.glamorgancricket.com 

Images courtesy of Flickr 

Robert Croft delivery 

Cricket was 

introduced to Wales 

in 1783, now 227 years on 

Glamorgan County Cricket 

Club is the only first-class 

club representing the 

proud Welsh nation. 

Despite being formed in 

1888, the club only attained 

its first-class status in 1921 

after its menfolk returned 

from the horrors of the First 

World War. 

Glamorgan CCC is based 

in Cardiff and plays most of 

its home games at the 

splendid SWALEC Stadium. 

However, like many cricket 

clubs, it has a passion for 

taking the noble game to 

the people, with matches 

previously played at 

Swansea, Colwyn Bay and 

Cresselly. 

Glamorgan have won the 

English County 

Championship three times, 

the last success being in 

1997. More recently, its 

limited over team 

Glamorgan Dragons has 

won the one-day Sunday/ 

National League three 

times, the last in 2004. 

Other successes include 

reaching the final of the 

Benson and Hedges 

competition in 2000. 

Interestingly, the club 

holds a unique place in 

cricketing legend. 

Glamorgan was the venue 

in 1968 when, Gary Sobers 

(Notts) hit all six balls in an 

over for six. This nicely 

contradicts the American 

actor, Robin Williams, who 

once claimed that ‘Cricket 

is basically baseball on 

valium.’ 

Not to be outdone, 

Glamorgan certainly has its 

own heroes including Jack 

Mercer who took all ten 

Worcestershire wickets for 

51 in 1936 and more 

recently, in July 2010 

Glamorgan player Robert 

Croft became the first 

Welsh cricketer to achieve 

the double of 10,000 runs 

and 1,000 wickets in 

first-class cricket. 

Many believe that Croft 

will probably be the last 

1,000-wicket man given the 

reduced emphasis on 

Championship cricket. In a 

bizarre arrangement 

unique to cricket, this 

proud Welshman has also 

represented England. One 

can only speculate what 

Welsh wing wizard, Ryan 

Giggs, would have made of 

such an arrangement being 

introduced to football, 

Capello can only dream… 

Glamorgan currently 

compete in the County 

Championship Second 

Division and are making 

serious efforts for 

promotion. Cricket Club 

Magazine spoke to CEO 

Alan Hamer last month. He 

Images courtesy of Flickr 

Croft celebrating his 1000th wicket 

Images courtesy of Glalmorgan 

Jim Allenby 

Images courtesy of Glamorgan 

Gareth Rees striking for 6 

said, “I joined in 

December 2006 as Finance 

and Commercial Director. I 

was promoted to CEO last 

September. It’s a very 

varied role and different to 

ones I’ve had previously. 

However, it’s enjoyable 

and offers me some new 

challenges. Lots have 

happened at the club over 

the last few years. Adding, 

“We’ve had a good season 

and been very competitive. 

Obviously, we need to 

improve our one day game 

but we are making 

progress in that regard. 

There are many positive 

signs, we have a young 

team of mainly Welsh 

players and patience is 

required to ensure their 

development over the 

coming years. The like of 

Robert Croft, who has been 

an exceptional servant for 

Glamorgan on and off the 

field, will assist in that 

process.” 

Images courtesy of Glamorgan 

Captain Jamie Dalrymple 

Glamorgan | SWALEC Stadium 

6 7

Cuckney | Langwith Road 

cuckney 

langwith road 

Cuckney, Mansfield, NG20 9NG. 

T: 01623 845555 W:www.cuckneycc.com 

Images courtesy of Flickr (Cuckney Bears) 

20/20 win against Clifton 

Nottinghamshire 

side Cuckney has 

just achieved its most 

successful season in its 100 

year history. Along with the 

notable successes below, in 

2010 the club has also 

gained Clubmark 

accreditation and its youth 

teams have battled bravely. 

Cricket Club Magazine 

spoke to General Secretary 

Jason Lucas earlier this 

summer to find out what 

makes Cuckney such a 

competitive establishment 

and his hopes for the future 

at its stunning Langwith 

Road home. 

“We are definitely a 

community club… with 

the emphasis on youth & 

junior cricket and provide a 

safe and friendly 

atmosphere together with 

providing a facility for the 

local community to learn 

recreational skills whilst 

socialising. Our doors are 

open to new members at all 

times.” 


Celebrating 

“We are a 

non for profit 

organisation 

and our Club 

rules state 

that we have 

to further 

invest into 

the facilities. 

This is at the 

forefront of 

our strong 

management 

committee. 

“We are a non for profit 

organisation… and our 

Club rules state that we 

have to further invest into 

the facilities. This is at the 

forefront of our strong 

management committee. 

As per the history of the 

Club only last year we 

created a brand new 

ground to accommodate 

our ever increasing junior 

membership. Visiting 

teams look forward to 

playing at Cuckney.” 

“This year we entered a 

girl’s side… in the North 

Notts Kwik Cricket festivals. 

The girls had not played 

before but soon picked up 

the skills and went through 

the season unbeaten. They 

even had a hard ball game 

at the end of the season 

against Mansfield and 

Pleasley. It was a great 

achievement for the Club 

and the girls thoroughly 

enjoyed it.” 

“We hold annual sporting 

events… such as the 

Cuckney Golf day and the 

the 

highlights 

Champions 

of the ECB 


Premier League 

20/20 

Champions of 

the Invitation 

Derbyshire 20/20 

competition 

3rd Place 

in the ECB 


Premier League 

Champions of 

the Mansfield & 

District Premier 

League 

Runners 

Up Bassetlaw 

Division 

2, gaining 

promotion into 

Div 1 

Runners Up 

Bassetlaw 

Division 

6, gaining 

promotion into 

Div 5 

Finalists of 

the Mansfield 

& District 

League 20/20 

competition 


Team Bus 

Cuckney Sportsman’s 

speakers evening. Last 

year we got to the final of 

the Cockspur 20/20 final 

played at Derbyshire 

County Cricket Club. This 

was a great achievement 

for the Club as there were 

550 teams that entered.” 

“The Club has worked 

very hard… and we have 

just achieved Clubmark 

accreditation. We have a 

development plan to follow 

over the next 5 years which 

includes plans for extra 

coaches. We are also 

looking to promote all our 

youngsters towards the 

Notts Cricket Board with 

the aim of getting a County 

1st X1 player from Cuckney. 

We are continuing to invest 

in our facilities and will 

look to build a new score 

box for the recently built 

new ground.” 

2010 Mansfield 

Premier league 

20/20 winners 

Over the last 15 years 

Cuckney Cricket Club 

has developed into one of 

North Nottinghamshire’s 

finest cricket clubs. 

However, for over 100 

years it consisted of just 

a wooden shed with no 

electric, heating & very 

limited facilities. 

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Cutting Action 

In 1998 a new pavilion 

opened which marked 

the clubs centenary 

year and it wasn’t long 

before the club grew 

its membership and 

developed its now hugely 

impressive youth section. 

In September 2002 a 

new indoors-training 

centre opened providing 

all-year round facilities 

for the club, community 

and all in the North of 

the County. Equipped 

with specialist flooring 

and equipment it caters 

for many sports and 

there is a viewing gallery, 

computer suite and 

a disabled lift which 

enables all to take part or 

watch their friends and 

family. 

We are proud to be associated and sponsors of 

Cuckney Cricket Club 

With ever increasing 

numbers, the committee 

set their stall out to 

develop a second ground 

at the club and it was 

agreed that the club 

would acquire land 

adjacent to the indoor 

cricket centre. 

Cuckney | Langwith Road 

In 2010 the ground was 

opened for the first time 

which enabled all the 

Cuckney teams to be 

able to play at one safe 

location whilst providing 

first class facilities for the 

youngsters. 

01623 664549 

www.lpmltd.net 

8 9

Sileby Town | Mill Lane 

sileby town 

mill lane 

Off Mountsorrel Lane, Sileby, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 7NF 

E: admin@silebytowncc.org.uk 

Images courtesy of Sileby Town 

Sunny day on the pitch 

Sileby is a former 

industrial village and 

civil parish in the Soar 

Valley, Leicestershire 

which lies between 

Leicester and 

Loughborough. Its cricket 

club, formed in 1895 has 

been at the forefront of 

cricketing excellence for 

aspiring cricketers in the 

area for a number of years. 


Team shot 

The clubs hard work has 

seen it recognised with the 

Clubmark accreditation 

and it was also selected by 

the ECB as one of their 

Focus Clubs for a 2007 

NatWest Cricket Force 

weekend. 


Rocket delivery 

Sileby offers a 

picturesque setting, good 

wickets, and excellent 

facilities. The club also has 

a large number of qualified 

coaches, full CRB checked 

helpers and volunteers. 

Essentially, it offers a safe 

environment for young 

cricketers to learn and play 

the game. 


DEFEND! 

“Our ground 

has changed 

so much in the 

last 10 years 

and is now 

unrecognisable 

from what it 

was. In fact, it 

has improved 

so much that 

we were 

chosen to host 

a Leicester 2nd 

XI game for 

the first time 

during the 

season. 

Chairman Nigel Kinch has 

been involved at the Club 

for 25 years. He spoke to 


month about the positive 

aspects of life at their Mill 

Lane home. He said, “Youth 


Preparation for the attack 

cricket is very important to 

us and has enabled us to be 

the establishment we are 

now. Encouragingly, we 

pull in players mainly from 

within a 10 mile radius.” 


Cover drive strike 

Nigel believes that work 

on their facilities has added 

a great deal to a general 

improvement within the 

club in the last decade. He 

said, “Our ground has 

changed so much in the last 

10 years and is now 

unrecognisable from what 

it was. In fact, it has 

improved so much that we 

were chosen to host a 

Leicester 2nd XI game for 

the first time during the 

season. We’ve also a new 

Sponsors of Sileby Town Cricket Club 

Sunrise Poultry Farms Ltd. 

Seagrave Road, Sileby, 

Leicestershire LE12 7NJ 

Tel: 01509 812441 

Fax: 01509 814601 

email: info@sunrise-eggs.com 

web: www.sunrise-eggs.com 

2nd pitch which was played 

on during the season and 

we’ll need to add to the 

facilities there.” 


Hammer away to boundary 

With an eye on the future 

Nigel finished, “We want to 

continue to grow and 

develop our own players 

and, at some point, win the 

League title. We had two 

seniors who played in the 

Leicestershire 2nd XI and 

have played academy 

games for the last three 

seasons and would like to 

see more represented at 

that level. We’d also like to 

keep as many young lads 

playing the game and 

always be able to cater for 

them no matter how good 

they are.” 

bedhamPton mariners 

Images courtesy of Bedhampton Mariners 

Lads with Michael Vaughan 

Bedhampton 

Mariners Cricket 

Club originally started as 

Stockheath & Bedhampton 

C.C up until the early 1900s. 

In the years preceding 

WWI the club made the 

move to Scratchface Lane 

in Bedhampton before 

moving to their current 

home in Bidbury Mead. 

Bedhampton Mariners 

Cricket Club itself was 

formed in 1993 and was 

charged with managing the 

affairs of Bedhampton 

Cricket Club, Mariners 

Cricket Club & 

Bedhampton Wednesday 

Cricket Club. 

The club admirably 

provides three levels of 

cricket and Sunday social 

Cricket continues to draw 

in a wide audience. Mid- 

Week Social Cricket, whilst 

in decline, also remains to 

this day. Cricket Club 

Magazine found out more 

about the Hampshire side 

from First Team Captain 

Dan Clark earlier this 

summer. 

“I’ve been involved… 

with Bedhampton for the 

majority of my life. From a 

youngster growing up 

watching to playing for the 

Sunday social team from 

the age of about 10 through 

to now where I have been 

first team Captain for the 

last 3 seasons.” 

“We have started to 

develop… a link with South 

Launceston Cricket Club in 

Tasmania, Australia. It 

originally started in 2004 

when John McCoy was 

signed as our overseas 

player from SLCC. Since 

then I have spent winters 

playing over in Tasmania 

and many Tasmanians have 

come over to play for 

Bedhampton. We have had 

4 in the last 3 seasons with 

two of the Australians 

taking up permanent 

residency in England. It 

has been a very 

prosperous arrangement 

for us and certainly 

strengthened our playing 

credentials.” 

“Bedhampton is only a 


Cap presenation 

small community… but 

the cricket club is a firm 

part of it. We regularly try 

to attract locals to come 

and play or watch and this 

season have set up an 

interesting arrangement 

with some local residents. 

We often lose balls into the 

back gardens of a number 

of houses that back onto our 

ground. Subsequently we 

have arranged that every 

time a home owner returns 

our balls we in turn will 

repay them with some 

gardening work. 

Unfortunately we do not 

have a youth set up at 

present as we find 

ourselves dwarfed by some 

other local bigger clubs 

who have had successful 

youth set ups for 

generations. It has been a 

focus point over the last 

few seasons but recruiting 

the young players is 

proving difficult as many of 


Lads with Matthew Hoggard 

10 11 

Bedhampton Mariners 

them are tied in with other 

local clubs.” 

“We are very much a 

family orientated club… 

meaning we have a lot of 

loyal youngsters aspiring 

the follow in their father’s 

footsteps. At the moment 

we have a very talented 11 

year old Harry Hovey, 

whose father Martyn plays 

for the first team. Harry 

represents Hampshire at 

his age group and last 

season scored his maiden 

century for the County. 

This season he is a regular 

and vital player for our 3rd 

team and he has already 

scored many 30’s and 

taken 3’s and 4’s with the 

ball. He has a very mature 

attitude and works very 

hard at his game. If he 

maintains his efforts he has 

a very bright future in 

cricket.” 

Smith Brothers 

Marine Ltd 

Are Proud to Sponsor 

Bedhampton Mariners Cricket Club 

Marine Decking & 

Flooring Contractors 

Installation & Floorcoverings 

Throughout The UK 

30 Crescent Rd, Fareham, Hants PO16 0HG. 

01329 230317 

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Tel: 023 9272 5904/5806/5830 

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Tel: 01383 411181 Fax: 01383 428813

Wanstead & Snaresbrook | Overton Drive 

wanstead & snaresbrook 

overton drive 

Wanstead, London E112LW 

T: 020 8989 5566 W: wanstead.hitscricket.com 

All images courtesy of Picassa Images 

Founded in 1866, 

London side 

Wanstead and Snaresbrook 

first played on land near 

George Lane Station behind 

the Fir Trees public house. 

At the time, the club was 

known as Woodford. The 

club moved to its present 

ground in Overton Drive in 

1880 and was then renamed. 

The club has been lucky 

enough to have had a 

hugely hard working 

committee since its 

inception and that strong 

management remains, 

carrying on a fine tradition 

of skilful administration. 

Certainly, it can now quite 

rightly claim to be one of 

the leading clubs in the 

South East of England and, 

for an amateur club it has a 

fine record. 

The modern day club has 

continued that tradition of 

success having just finished 

a hugely productive season 

throughout the club. The 

6th XI has just won 

successive league 

championships and 

therefore promotion, the 

5th XI has just won its third 

successive league 

championship and 

therefore promotion, the 

Women’s team have just 

won the North London 6’s 

and were league runnersup 

and, finally, the 1st XI 

were league runners up 

and won two cups. 

The 1st of August saw the 

club’s 1st XI defeat Shenley 

in the final of the CCC Cup. 

Finchley batted first and, 

thanks to an excellent 

all-round bowling 

performance, were bowled 

out for 165. It was a modest 

total, but could have caused 

some problems. However, 

Wanstead and Snaresbrook 

made short work of the 

chase. It was a fantastic win 

and cemented the clubs 

status further as a hugely 

competitive amateur side. 

The trophy is competed for 

by all the senior teams in 

South East England. 

Before the final and in 

June 2010 the club 

welcomed sports legends 

Michael Holding, Courtney 

Walsh, and Jahangir Khan 

to the formal opening of a 

splendid new nets facility. 

After the event and into the 

evening, the club sat down 

to dinner in aid of the 

Courtney Walsh Foundation 

Most recently and on 

Saturday the 4th of 

September, after the last 

league games of 2010, the 

club celebrated its season 

in honour of players of all 

ages and levels and its 

dedicated group of 

volunteers with a fantastic 

celebratory day. 

Winter 2010 

Schedule for Junior Indoor 

Leagues - 

Starting October, on Friday 

evenings for one hour: 

Under 9s to Under 11s: at 

either 1815 or 1915, Peter 

May Centre 

Under 13s: at either 2015 

or 2115, Peter May Centre 

Under 15s: 1815 onwards, 

Bancroft School 

VERY PROUD TO BE SPONSORS OF 

WANSTEAD & SNARESBROOK CRICKET CLUB 

LAWNKEEPER 

TONYBURGESS48@HOTMAIL.COM 

07719298916 

WWW.LAWNKEEPER.CO.UK 

belstone 

rew meadow 

Belstone, Devon 

T: 01837 84049 E: info@belstonecricket.co.uk W: www.belstonecricket.co.uk 

Records show that 

1938 was the year 

that cricket first took place 

in the picturesque North 

Devon village of Belstone. 

The modern day club, 

which includes players 

from the village and the 

surrounding area, has a 

thriving Colts section 

providing one of the few 

summer team-sport 

opportunities for 

youngsters in the region. 

As well as playing in the 

North Devon League, the 

Club instigated the Buckley 

Cup in 1997, a limited-over 

evening competition 

between local villages and 

claim the distinction of 

being, at 290 metres above 

sea level on the Northern 

edge of Dartmoor, as being 

Images courtesy of Belstone Website Images courtesy of Belstone Website 

the highest ground in 

England. The welcoming 

and open club, who 

withdrew from the South 

Devon League and joined 

the North Devon League in 

2005 play at the pretty Rew 

Meadow. 

Involved with the club for 

five years, Team Secretary 

Andrew Paterson spoke to 


earlier in the season. 

“In the future…we should 

possibly be looking at the 

being in the first division of 

the North Devon League 

and are looking at a plan for 

Cricket Club INTERVIEW 

Cricket Club Magazine speaks to 

Phil Dennis - PHJ Dennis & Sons 

Phil Dennis at PHJ Dennis and 

Sons spoke to Cricket Club 

Magazine about his 

involvement with the club. 

“I have been involved in or 

around Belstone cricket for 

approximately 8 years, the last 

5 years as cricket coach to the 

8 to 16 year old colts section 

which meets on a Monday 

night. I also play for the club 

along with my 2 sons. 

It’s a family friendly club, 

with over 50 young boys and 

girls in the colts section and it 

also has a nucleus of 35 to 40 

guys to pick from in the men’s 

team. Situated on the edge of 

Dartmoor and overlooking 

countryside in every direction, 

it’s a beautiful spot to play 

cricket. Importantly, the club is 

fully committed to those of any 

age, any ability and anyone 

who is keen to learn the 

discipline and fun that can be 

had playing cricket. 

I enjoy the fun, community 

and team spirit at the club. 

Seeing young colts now 

playing regularly in the 1st 

team, and the many new 

friends I meet and make week 

by week is very pleasurable. 

Into the future, we are 

looking forward to getting an 

under 16 team into a new 

Tamar League and are looking 

towards updating the club 

house as it needs new kitchen 

and showers. Hopefully I can 

help out with that and 

renewing the astro turf batting 

strip. It’s going to be a 

marathon not a sprint with 

plenty of work to do for every 

Belstone member, me 

included!” 

a new Pavilion which will 

help with that push. We’ve 

haven’t looked into our 

funding options just yet, but 

we will be taking a closer 

look at things shortly.” 

“We are quite a small 

village…club and have 

neighbouring clubs of a 

higher status. It means we 

will never really get up to 

their level and take over 

what they are able to do 

within the community and 

the wider area. However, 

we have very close ties 

PH J Dennis & Sons 

Belstone | Rew Meadow 

with those local clubs. 

“Our youth set up is a 

triumph…on a Monday 

night we get fifty to seventy 

kids involved which is 

excellent for a club of our 

size. We are able to draw 

numbers from Okehampton 

and the surrounding area 

because they don’t have 

anything like what we have 

on offer at the moment.” 

-As of 30/08/2010- North 

Devon League, Division 

4 -4th with an average of 

12.40 check out - www. 

ndcricketleague.org for 

more details. 

-The 2010 annual dinner 

will be Friday, 8 October 

at the Tom Cobley Inn, 

Spreyton. 

Builders 

Very proud sponsors of 

Belstone Cricket Club 

01837 840144 

phjdennisandsons@tiscali.co.uk 

Great Youlden, South Tawton, 

Okehampton, Devon EX20 2RJ 

12 13

Firwoood Bootle | Wadham Road 

firwood bootle 

wadham road 

Bootle, Liverpool, Merseyside L20 2DD 

T: 0151 922 1442 F:0151 922 1442 E: info@firwoodbootle.co.uk W:www.firwoodbootle.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Flickr Images 

Catch it! 

Bootle Cricket Club 

has been playing 

the game since 1833, which 

makes it the second oldest 

club in the Merseyside area 

after Liverpool CC, who 

were founded a quarter of a 

century earlier in 1807. 

From about 1850 onwards 

many local cricket clubs 

had played one another on 

a regular basis, but in 1892 

a local newspaper started 

publishing a weekly table 

which it called the 

Liverpool & District Cricket 

Competition in order to 

stimulate interest. 

The Competition 

continued as little more 

than a loose association of 

clubs until after the Second 

World War, the teams 

playing each other when 

and where they chose. 

Finally, in 1949, a meeting 

was held at which all the 

constituent clubs agreed to 

meet one another on an 

organized basis and the 

fixtures were standardized. 

Bootle became the 

inaugural champions that 

year and retained the title 

in 1950. They won it again 

in 1956 but probably did 

not imagine at the time that 

another 28 years would 

pass before the 

championship flag would 

again be seen flying above 

Wadham Road. The 1960s 

and ‘70s were indeed 

something of a barren era 

for the club, though little 

did they realize that lurking 

within its bosom was a 

young boy who was 

destined to become the 

greatest player in the 

history of Bootle CC. 

This success was 

gained with a 

team composed 

largely of local 

lads, and Ian 

himself made 

a magnificent 

87 in Bootle’s 

total of 149. Ian 

later went on to 

lead his team 

to a record four 

consecutive 

triumphs in 

this same 

competition 

between 2004 

and 2007, a 

truly fantastic 

achievement. 

Ian Cockbain made his 1st 

XI debut at the tender age 

of 13 and it was obvious 

even then that he was 

earmarked for great things 

within the game. Ian was 

Bootle born and bred, 

attended the local grammar 

school and was, in due 

course, invited along to Old 

Trafford for trials prior to 

being offered a 

professional contract by 

Lancashire CCC in 1979. 

He played six seasons for 

the Red Rose County 

during which he made 47 

first-class appearances 

scoring 1483 runs with a 

highest innings of 98 

against Warwickshire at 

Southport. 

When Ian was released by 

Lancashire in 1984 he once 

again became available for 

Bootle on a regular basis 

and he oversaw a period of 

unprecedented success 

until his retirement in 2008. 

During those 25 seasons 

the league championship 

was won eleven times as 

well as a whole gamut of 

knockout events, but the 

highlight (for me 

personally) arrived in 

September 1988 when 

Bootle became the first 

Liverpool Competition side 

to win the prestigious LCB 

Lancashire Knockout Cup, 

beating Lancaster by 13 

runs in the Old Trafford 

final. This success was 

gained with a team 

composed largely of local 

lads, and Ian himself made 

a magnificent 87 in Bootle’s 

total of 149. Ian later went 

on to lead his team to a 

record four consecutive 

triumphs in this same 

competition between 2004 

and 2007, a truly fantastic 

achievement. 

In my ten 

years as 

Images courtesy of Firwood Bootle 

Before match 

chairman 

of Firwood 

Bootle Cricket 

Club there 

have been 

massive 

changes, 

which could 

not have 

happened 

without the 

commitment 

of our many 

volunteers. 

In 2002 we 

demolished 

our venerable 

old pavilion, 

which will 

forever 

hold fond 

memories 

for those 

members still 

with us and 

those who 

have sadly 

passed away. 

A major turning point for 

the club occurred in 1994 

when a company called 

Firwood Timber, headed 

by Bootle member and 

ex-player, Mr Peter Booth, 

became the leading 

sponsor. Peter had made 

up his mind that the club 

had to become a highly 

successful organization 

both on and off the field 

and changes soon began 

to happen. At this point in 

the article, I shall hand 

over to chairman, Mr Ray 

Leary, who will 

summarize exactly what 

has taken place at 

Wadham Road over the 

past decade or so. 

“In my ten years as 

ST JAMES’S PLACE 

WEALTH MANAGEMENT 

IAN COCKBAIN Cert PFS - Senior Partner 

e St. James’ Place Partnership 

Telephone: 0151 224 8700 Mobile: 07831 773646 

Fax: 0151 224 8701 Email: iancockbain@sjipp.co.uk 

Martins Building, Water Street, Liverpool L2 3SX 


After match YESSS 


1984 

chairman of Firwood 

Bootle Cricket Club there 

have been massive 

changes, which could not 

have happened without the 

commitment of our many 

volunteers. In 2002 we 

demolished our venerable 

old pavilion, which will 

forever hold fond 

memories for those 

members still with us and 

those who have sadly 

passed away. 

“The new clubhouse was 

partly funded by the Sports 

Council National Lottery 

Unit and required 

members and friends of 

the club to make 

significant donations in 

kind and in cash. The new 

premises were officially 

opened by Lord Maclaurin 

of Knebworth, the then 

chairman of the England 

and Wales Cricket Board. 

“Some years later we 

added a brand new outdoor 

netting facility and this was 

followed by an extension to 

the pavilion for indoor net 

practice. These were 

superb additions to our 

Trivia 

Australian 

Wicketkeeper? 

Firwood Bootle | Wadham Road 

facilities and have 

contributed massively to 

the development of the 

Youth Section. The names 

of the people who put so 

much time and effort into 

bringing these projects to 

fruition is too long to 

mention but the club is 

indeed indebted to them. 

“As for the playing side, 

during my time as 

chairman Bootle CC has 

been fortunate to have had 

two exceptional captains 

who have brought us 

outstanding success, Ian 

Cockbain and David 

Snellgrove. It has been an 

honor for me to chair such 

an old, distinguished and 

well respected cricket club 

with its marvelous, 

hardworking and 

dedicated committee, 

volunteers and supporters. 

Long may it continue.” 

Moss Street Garage 

Service, Repairs & M.O.T. 

01695 724306 

Proud to support 

Firwood Bootle CC 

14 15

Cookham Dean | Ricketts Field 

cookham dean 

ricketts field 

Whyteladyes Lane, Cookham, Berkshire 

W: www.cdcc.co.uk 

Could the seeds of 

Cookham Dean 

Cricket Club be traced 

back to the 8th century? 

Certainly the monastery 

that used to dominate the 

hamlet of Cookham, had 

been batted around for a 

few innings. Once between 

Archbishop Aethelheard 

and the superbly named 

Aethelbald of Mercia, and 

then it all got a messy when 

Cynewulf of Wessex (the 

earliest incarnation of 

World Wrestling 

Entertainment ring names 

apparently) helped himself. 

The area was certainly 

worth acquiring though, 

this beautiful part of 

Berkshire inspired Kenneth 

Graeme’s superb stories 

the ‘Wind in the Willows’, 

which were based around 

Cookham Dean, when the 

author lived at ‘The Mount’ 

as a child. 

Immediately post WW2 

the club didn’t play league 

fixtures as we know them, 

but competed in arranged 

games locally. Opponents 

could vary from a team of 

Emeritus Dons from Oxford, 

to a select X1 from the BBC. 

The only regular fixture to 

speak of was contested 

against the Odney club, 

and this was also a rarity for 

the time in being an all-day 

game. 

We hear much about the 

‘spirit of the game’ 

nowadays, and how it has 

eroded, the truth is though, 

this isn’t a modern 

phenomenon. Whilst 

contesting the Julian Cup, 

acknowledged to be the 

oldest limited overs game 

in cricket, against the 

Aspro Cricket Club in 

Slough, Cookham 

discovered that their 

opposition were fielding an 

ex Australian test player! 

Nowadays the club plays 

at Rickett’s field, their home 

since the mid-1980s and 

field an impressive 1st, 2nd, 

3rd and X1s who play in 

the Thames Valley League 

divisions. They also field a 

mid-week 20 along with a 

‘Friendlies’ 1st and 2nd 

eleven along with an under 

17s. In the spirit of wide 

diversity, Cookham also 

have a thriving Petanque 

(bowls) team. 

Cookham Dean CC is well 

over 120 years old as a 

cricket club, and has been 

at the centre of Cookham 

society all that time, and 

like bodies that last that 

length of time it has gone 

through bad and good 

times. Right now it is going 

through a good time, and is 

enjoying the work and 

fruits of its member’s effort. 


spoke to the clubs 

Chairman, Tony Austin last 

month. Involved for twenty 

five years and now aged 

sixty three, he is nearing 

the end of his playing days. 

Tony is satisfied that the 

youth structure they have in 

place is building strong 

foundations for the future 

and hopes other club 

members can experience 

the longevity he has 

managed to enjoy. He 

started, “ Ian Davis, our 

Colts Co –ordinator has 

been involved in the club 

for the past 7 seasons and, 

in that time we’ve seen the 

Colts numbers grow from 

35 boys and girls to around 

200 this season. In support 

A 

cricket 

ground 

is a flat 

piece of 

earth 

with 

some 

buildings 

around 

it. 

Richie 

Benaud 

of this the club has invested 

nearly £50k in new 

infrastructure ranging from 

brand new 3g 3 laned nets 

and a county standard 

bowling machine. We’ve 

also been able to send 

coaches on Level 1 and 2 

ECB courses. Adding, 

“Boys are regularly fed into 

the senior sides at the 

earliest opportunity and 

they can start senior cricket 

as young as 12. Cookham 

Dean CC is designed as a 

club to join at 8 and still be 

a member at 90.” 

Cookham clearly benefit 

from a fantastic relationship 

We are sponsors of 

Cookham Dean Cricket Club 

HALLMARK 

Hallmark is an independent vending 

machine supplier and operating company 

based in Surrey specialising in providing a 

first class professional service. 

Hallmark Vending Limited 

Barn House 

White Horse Lane 

Ripley 

Surrey 

GU23 6BJ 

T: +44 (0) 1483 224122 

F: +44 (0) 1483 223212 

with their local community 

which has been built up 

through the years. Ian 

explained, “The club has 

grown to become a focal 

point of the community and 

Friday evening Colts 

sessions in particular have 

become popular. Parents 

bring siblings and relax 

with a cold beer or wine. 

We host the Cookham 

Youth Club on Mondays 

and allow the local scouts/ 

cubs use our facilities. 

Recently, we hosted the 

Col.Garrett Cup, a charity 

event which was 

supported by the 

community and raised £3k 

for the Dream flight 

Charity. We’ve also just 

had Sussex CC at the 

ground to coach the Colts 

and we hold a Summer 

Camp which attracts 

children from the wider 

community.” 

Positively, their ample 

facilities are able to cope 

with all that’s happening at 

the vibrant establishment 

at the moment and they are 

keen to expand further. Ian 

finished, “The ground is 

wholly owned by the club, 

and many other clubs look 

upon us with envy at this 

INTERVIEW 

Cricket Club 

Cricket Club Magazine speaks to andy fox - Powerhouse 

“I started playing cricket 

for the club about twenty 

years ago and my 

company’s association 

started five years ago. 

Since then, we have 

supported them in 

various ways. We try to 

encourage the Colts 

section as much as we 

can and ask that the 

majority of our 

sponsorship goes 

towards helping them. 

We helped the club put 

on a fund raising night for 

the Rugby World Cup in 

2007. Three hundred and 

fifty people attended and 

a great night was had by 

all. We provided two 

huge projection screens 

and the event was hosted 

by a young comedian 

named Tom Rosenthal. 

His father, and fellow 

current playing member 

is Jim Rosenthal and we 

provided a live link to the ITV 

Sport studio where Jim was 

presenting the England vs 

South Africa game! A unique 

experience for everyone. 

Cookham Dean is an expensive 

place to live, and during the 

late 80’s and 90’s, young 

players who had come through 

the Colts sides had to move 

away because they couldn’t 

afford to live in the area. It 

seems now that youngsters 

return back home after 

University and we now have 

vibrant, young sides. 

Powerhouse do as much as we 

can to help the club make the 

best of the efforts of their 

hard-working volunteers, and 

also make the clubhouse as 

attractive as possible. I try to 

give back to projects I believe 

in and I’m passionate about 

supporting youth sport.” 

Powerhouse Productions Ltd 

395 Montrose Avenue 

Slough Trading Estate 

Slough 

Berkshire 

SL1 4TJ 

T +44 (0)1753 696369 

F +44 (0)1753 696370 

E info@powerhouseprod.co.uk 

W www.powerhouseprod.co.uk 

Cookham Dean | Ricketts Field 

fact. 25 years ago the club 

made a big decision to 

move grounds and looking 

back, it was the decision 

that made the club what it 

is today. We’ve a healthy 

bank balance, our own 

ground and the facilities 

are fantastic for a village 

set up. We’ve new state of 

the art cricket nets, a large 

club house, bar and 

parking for 70 cars. We are 

planning to open a second 

playing pitch adjoining the 

current ground within the 

next two years to help deal 

with our increasing 

numbers.” 

What do you want your audience to do? 

In times of turbulence and change, organisations should 

communicate more than ever with staff, customers and their wider 

audiences:- otherwise people make up their own minds about what's 

going on and what to do about it. 

These companies come out the stronger when skies clear. 

People are no longer prepared just to spectate. The best inputs often 

come from within, developing and harnessing strengths, giving a 

voice to all those with ideas, shaping your business to meet new 

needs, and drawing expertise from within creates the 

strongest of teams. 

The teams best equipped to win. 

Information is just data unless it lives in the mind of the receiver. Your 

view is simply that, unless I share and am moved by it. History glows 

with shining examples of teams who share the same passion and 

goals and prevail against seemingly superior opposition. 

A team with this strength inside can achieve anything. 

Conferences : Videos : Webcasts 

Trivia 

Highest English Test 

Run Scorer? 

16 17

Brixham | North Boundary Road 

brixham 

north boundary road 

Brixham, Devon TQ5 8LM 

T: 01803 853836 E: enquiries@brixhamcricketclub.co.uk W: www.brixhamcricketclub.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Brixham 

Flag 

Records show that a 

cricket team existed 

in the beautiful Devon 

fishing town of Brixham 

earlier, but it wasn’t until 

1919 that Brixham Cricket 

Club was founded. Into the 

1930’s the first club was 

then disbanded and the 

present club was formed. 

Then, during the Second 

World War the Club was 

disbanded once more and 

re-established in 1945. In 

1947 Brixham CC became 

affiliated to the Devon 

County Cricket Club 

Association. 

The Chairman of the 

modern day establishment 

is David Thomas. He spoke 

to Cricket Club Magazine 

this month about an 

impressive new ground on 

North Boundary Road and 

his thoughts for the future. 

A need for change… 

“When the club first 

bought its previous site in 

the mid 1960’s it was 

surrounded by green fields 

and, over the years, more 

and more development 

took place around the field 

until cricket became a bit of 

a problem because so many 

balls were hitting houses! 

We made the decision to 

move and six years ago 

were approached by 

developers to see if we 

wanted to sell the land. In 

turn they would build a new 

Trivia 1 Answer 

Adam Gilchrist 

clubhouse and prepare our 

pitch and outfield. We 

struck a deal and moved 

last year.” 

Benefits… 

“Cricket is becoming an 

ever increasing expensive 

exercise and the facility gave 

us a degree of capital in 

order to survive. It offers a 

certain amount of safety and 

allows for long term planning 

at the club. We’ve made and 

continue to make a series of 

long term investments which 

mean the club will be secure 

for the next hundred years.” 

Community coaching… 

“We operate under the 

Chance2shine scheme and 

are Club Marked. We’ve a 

level 2 coach who goes into 

local schools and are 

continuing to encourage 

younger coaches to take 

their level 2 qualifications 

this winter. We’ve a 

wonderful facility and we 

need to advertise it by 

introducing new kids. 

Last winter, Bob Cottam, 

who lives locally, ran a series 

of indoor coaching sessions 

at the club and we hope to do 

it again this winter. It’s 

something we are willing to 

invest in because it brings 

youngsters on.” 

Challenges… 

“The biggest challenge for 

cricket in our area is the 

competition with football. 

Our seasons overlap and 

some of our guys switch to 

Images courtesy of Brixham 

Brixham clubhouse 

Trivia 2 Answer 

Highest English Test Run Scorer? 

Graham Gooch 

football before our season 

has finished and theirs has 

just begun in August. Having 

said that, I’m sure our new 

site will begin to help 

encourage people to join and 

we are still spending money 

on the outfield and the wicket 

to bring it up to a higher 

standard.” 

01803 852736 

Explore Brixham property 

at www.ljboyce.co.uk 

Boyce Brixham are proud to support 

Brixham Cricket Club 

Ambitions… 

“We are keen to 

consolidate at our current 

level and then will look 

longer term at the Premier 

League. It won’t be an easy 

exercise but we’ve been 

there before in the recent 

past and, with a proper 

framework and good 

foundations in place maybe 

we will be ready for that 

level again in three or four 

year’s. 

We are also keen to have 

the ground utilised for the 

highest possible standard 

because it’s a pretty 

stunning place. It’s a 

positive club and we are 

not going to sit back and 

rest on our investment. We 

certainly want to make use 

of it.” 

finedon dolben 

avenue road 

Finedon, Northants NN9 5JJ 

T: 01933 681117 W: finedondolben.play-cricket.com 

Images courtesy of Finedon Dolben 

1st, 2nd, 3rd teams 

Northants Premier 

League highflyers 

Finedon Dolben have once 

more battled at the top end 

of their division during the 

season after some huge 

success in the last ten years. 


spoke to their Chairman 

Stewart Miller earlier this 

summer. In his current role 

for six years, he’s been 

personally involved since 

he played junior cricket at 

the club. Since then he’s 

also umpired and was 

Assistant Secretary in the 

1980’s. 


Beating Retreat Royal Anglian Regiment 

An outstanding period… 

“I’ve hugely enjoyed my 

time as Chairman and for 

the last ten years we have 

won the Premier League on 

numerous occasions. In that 

time we’ve been very 

fortunate that we’ve had 

some key and influential 

players including Andy 

Roberts. He lives in the 

area and played a number 

of seasons professionally 

before stepping down to 

our level and giving a major 

boost to the club. He is 


Jonny Donne 

someone who is totally 

respected in the game. 

Andy is now on our grounds 

staff and still plays for the 

first team. 


Pavillion 

Good support in a 

stunning location… 

“The club is fantastically 

well supported and we 

normally have a pre-season 

tour which involves over 

sixty people. Lots of our 

success is down to the 

support in the village and 

the wider local community. 

People can simply wander 

down and watch some of 

the best cricket in 

Northamptonshire, have 

pint, sit on the patio. 

It’s a stunning place to 

play the game and is the 

archetypal kind of cricket 

location with a church in the 

background. We’ve an 

exceptionally well 

supported social side and 

we have people from all 

areas of the community 

involved.” 


Fun Days 

Clubmark accredited 

and a focus club for 

Northamptonshire… 

“As a focus club for 

Northamptonshire we’ve 

been able to get some good 

beneficial funding to 

improve our nets and 

pitches. We do have to 

adhere to all of the rules set 

down by the ECB which is 

challenging, but child 

welfare is important and we 

have a cracking team who 

help in our administration. 

We also benefit from some 

excellent support from our 

county.” 

Younger players… 

“We have around 80 

youngsters involved at an 

under 11, 13 and 15 level 

and there are some 

Q: 

What’s 

your 

favourite 

animal? 

Finedon Dolben | Avenue Road 

excellent village lads 

involved. I think success 

breeds success and has 

drawn people to our club. 

We are able to give an 

enormous amount of 

children a game each 

week.” 

The future… 

“We have submitted plans 

for an extension to our 

clubhouse which is being 

looked at by the local 

authority. If we are able to 

go ahead it will mean 

around a sixty percent 

increase in the floor area. 

We should get an answer in 

December and if 

everything is ok it means 

our future will revolve 

around a much improved 

facility. 

We also hope to run a 

fourth team on a Saturday 

and build on the successes 

we’ve had. The club was 

formed in 1836 and we 

intend to celebrate our 

175th anniversary with a 

week we have earmarked 

for a festival of cricket next 

year.” 

J . G A R R A R D & A L L E N 

SOLICITORS 

4 H i g h S t r e e t 

O L n e y, B u c k s M K 4 6 4 B B 

T: 0 1 2 3 4 7 1 1 2 1 5 F 0 1 2 3 4 7 1 3 3 9 1 D X : 5 1 3 0 0 O l n e y 

w w w. j g a l a w. c o . u k 

18 19 

Steve 

Waugh: 

Merv 

Hughes

Horspath | The Village Hall 

horsPath 

the village hall 

Oxford Road, Horspath, Oxfordshire OX33 1RT 

T: 07767 613 322 E: max@horspathcricket.com W: www.horspathcricket.com 

All images courtesy of Flickr images 

Horspath are a 

friendly village 

club set in the beautiful 

South Oxfordshire 

countryside, 5 miles south 

east of Oxford. Cricket has 

been played in the area 

since the mid 1890’s when it 

is known that a match was 

played against Garsington. 

The clubs first home at the 

Village Recreation Ground 

was acquired by the Parish 

Council in 1924. At the time, 

the grandfather of current 

Club President, Bob Walker, 

levelled the square and 

fenced off the field. 

It was then replaced by 

the current Village Hall in 

the 1960’s which was 

extended to add the 

modern changing rooms 

with the assistance of Sport 

England lottery funding in 

1996. All weather nets were 

then added in 2000 and 

small improvements to the 

pitch and facilities have 

taken place every winter 

since. 

The modern day side are 

MP Sports Cherwell League 

Division 1 Champions. 

Along with their fantastic 

first team’s performance 

the clubs other teams have 

performed exceptionally 

and have won their 

respective Division 1, 

Division 6, Division 7 and 

Division 10 divisions. 

Impressively, the club was 

also Radio Oxford 

Memorial Trophy Winners. 

Much of their recent 

success must be put down 

to the opening of a second 

new ground in 2009 which 

was available for the 2010 

season. Installed to the 

north east of the Village 

Hall, it has allowed for the 

expansion of youth cricket 

at the club meaning they 

now have an ever 

expanding and vibrant 

youth section which caters 

for youngsters aged 7-17. 

Interestingly, the club is 

an all-volunteer amateur 

establishment and does not 

pay people to play or coach 

cricket. The club has an 

informal but growing 

relationship with Riverside 

Cricket Club and Tasmania 

University Cricket Club in 

Launceston and Hobart, 

Tasmania, respectively 

where it exchanges players 

now and again. The hugely 

welcoming and open club 

provides opportunities for 

players, youth players and 

social members alike. 

Closed season 

events 

Saturday September 25th, 

1.30pm Horspath v Oxford 

Caribbean’s 

Sunday September 26th, 

1.30pm Horspath v Jehan’s 

Asian XI 

Thursday evenings: Adult 

& U17’s training 

Cricket is 

a pressure 

game, and 

when it comes 

to an India- 

Pakistan 

match the 

pressure is 

doubled. 

IMRAN KHAN 

Formed in 1960 after 

the joining of two 

Clubs, Belhus Park CC and 

Belhus Association CC it’s 

the Essex clubs 50th year 

Anniversary this year. The 

occasion was marked with a 

cricket week from the 29th 

of August until September 

3rd as several fixtures took 

place including a match 

with Essex over 50’s. Also, 

on the weekend of the 7th of 

August several founder 

members were invited to 

attend a special buffet in 

their honour at the ground 

when a 1st XI fixture took 

place. The clubs Chairman 

is Brian Edwards. He spoke 


last month about his 

involvement and hopes for 

the future. 

“I Joined the Club in 

1983… and initially assisted 

with running the youth 

teams as well as playing on 

both Saturday and Sundays. 

I then went on to Captain 

various sides and had 

several roles within the 

Club until 2000 when I took 

over as Chairman. I also 

became joint trustee of the 

lease at our home ground in 

2004 when we took it over 

at North Stifford.” 

“We have always had 

good links… with the other 

local sides although sadly 

over the past years the 

number of clubs has slowly 

dwindled away from 

somewhere near 30 clubs 

down to just 8. We have run 

several joint ventures with 

other clubs especially at 

youth level where we have 

held coaching sessions in 

schools and disability 

cricket in the local area 

supported by the County 

Board. We also give over 

the village green once a 

year to hold the summer 

fete and are also active 

members of the Local 

Community Forum Group.” 

“We have always… 

received very favourable 

comments on the playing 

conditions and wickets 

provided by our dedicated 

members who prepare the 

wickets in their spare time 

completely voluntarily. We 

have a first class 

scoreboard facility and our 

big aim is to replace the 

wooden Clubhouse that, 

although does its job, could 

do with replacing with a 

purpose built pavilion to 

stage the kind of cricket our 

wickets deserve. We have 

practice nets and roll on 

covers that have been 

provided by various 

funding partners as well a 4 

Belhus | The Village Green 

belhus 

the village green(north stifford green) 

High Road, North Stifford, Grays, Essex RM16 5UG 

T: 01375 385505 W:belhuscc.cricketclubwebsite.co.uk 

All images courtesy of Denis Read, Belhus 

Game at Belhus 


B.C.C. 


1st XI June 09 


Match 


Coin toss at the green 

big sightscreens and 

boundary rope.” 

“Although we don’t... 

Specifically run a ladies/ 

girls team from the Club we 

are founder members of the 

current Thurrock Ladies 

Team which enjoys the 

membership of other ladies 

and girls from local clubs. 

Like us, they do not have 

enough to form their own 

team.” 

“We feel the 

development… of younger 

players is paramount to the 

future stability and growth 

of the Club. Added to that, 

quite simply, we want to 

continue to grow as we 

have done over the past 6 

years and to hopefully one 

day have a pavilion to 

match our playing surface 

and facilities, after all 

“Romford wasn’t built in a 

day.” 

20 21

Bashley Rydal | Bashley Road 

bashley rydal 

bashley road 

Bashley, New Milton, Hampshire BH25 5RX 

T: 01425 619877 W: www.bashleyrydal.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Bashley Rydal Website 

A relatively new club, 

Hampshire side 

Bashley (Rydal) were 

formed in 1947 at the Rydal 

Hotel in New Milton. 

Located on the edge of the 

Beautiful New Forest, the 

club benefits from a 

stunning location and 

provides a safe and friendly 

environment for players of 

all ages to enjoy the game. 

The club amply caters for 

five Saturday league sides 

and a Sunday side plus colts 

cricket for all age groups 

from Under 9 through to 

Under 17. Impressively, 

Bashley’s first XI won the 

SEC T20 Cup at the 

Rosebowl during the season. 

Added to that, they have just 

finished a respectable 5th in 

the Southern Electric 

Premier Cricket League. 

John Neal started playing 

for Bashley in 1990. In his 

role as Chairman, he spoke 


towards the end of the 

season. 

“I’m very proud how 

cricketing aspects… have 

developed and how we’ve 

grown due to the hard work 

of a number of individuals. 

We’ve been fairly frustrated 

by developing and 

modernising the club 

however, during my time 

we’ve been able to extend 

the ground.” 

“We are keen to get 

involved... with our local 

community further and 

have made moves to get 

local groups involved. As a 

direct link with the local 

community, we work with 

local schools.” 

“Our facility needs 

bringing… up to the level 

of our playing abilities and 

part of our development 

plan looks at upgrading 

what we’ve got. The main 

wickets are decent, but our 

main pavilion is a little 

dated.” 

“In management terms… 

we want to improve our 

facilities and get a grass 

wicket on our second 

ground. Playing wise, 

ideally we would like to get 

a full term coach to 

concentrate on our younger 

cricketers. We’d also be 

keen on more contact with 

the local community and 

companies within it. We 

face a further challenge in 

that we are based in what is 

predominantly a retirement 

area.” 

In 2001 the club jointly 

developed indoor practice 

facilities at nearby Ballard 

School, which means that 

indoor facilities are now 

available all year round. 

In its Diamond Jubilee year 

of 2007 the club raised its 

fi fth senior side and, the 

same term also saw league 

winning performances 

from the third and fourth 

teams. 

R.H. Fagan 

Menswear 

We are very proud sponsors of 

Bashley Rydal Cricket Club 

01425 611658 

108 Station Road, New Milton, Hampshire BH25 6LQ 




Joanne May - Brooks Macdonald Asset Management 

“We have our 

own cricket 

team who 

play friendly 

matches 

against other 

businesses 

that we work 

alongside.” 

Joanne May works within 

the Marketing Department 

at Brooks Macdonald 

Asset Management. She 

spoke enthusiastically to 


about a positive 

association with the 

Club… 

“We’ve sponsored them 

since the start of the 

season, principally 

because we have an office 

that’s recently opened in 

Hampshire. They 

approached us for 

sponsorship and we were 

delighted to oblige. We’d 

been looking to do 

something which would 

engage us within the local 

community. 

It’s mainly about brand 

awareness for us locally 

and gives us the chance for 

our name to be seen 

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management are 

independent, performance led investment 

managers specialising in the management 

of private wealth. 

We are proud sponsors of Bashley 

(Rydal) Cricket Club. 

around the club and 

around the area when they 

travel to play other clubs. 

We also get to go along to 

matches and it is 

somewhere for us to 

entertain clients. Certainly 

the cricket on show this 

season has been fantastic, 

they’ve been doing 

brilliantly. We hope to 

continue to link up into the 

future as it is paying 

dividends for us at the 

moment. 

We have our own cricket 

team who play friendly 

matches against other 

businesses that we work 

alongside. We’ve some 

keen cricketers here and 

as a company we are fairly 

sporty. Over the years we 

have sponsored various 

education establishment 

teams including Stowe and 

Bashley Rydal | Bashley Road 

create, protect and 

enhance wealth 

To fi nd out more contact Kevin Cull at: 

The Long Barn Dean Estate Wickham Road 

Fareham PO17 5BN 

T: 01329 552111 

E: Hampshire@brooksmacdonald.com 

I: www.bm-am.com 

Brooks Macdonald Asset Management Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered in England No 3417519. 

Company Registered Offi ce: 111 Park Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 7JL. 

Wellington College in 

Berkshire. 

We also sponsor the 

Tunbridge Wells Cricket 

Club, one of the leading 

clubs in the Kent Cricket 

League. All of these 

sponsorships demonstrate 

our commitment to help 

develop sport in local 

communities.” 

22 23

Holmbridge | Woodhead Road 

holmbridge 

woodhead road 

Holmbridge, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire HD9 2NQ 

T: 07971 875463 E: martingledhill@yahoo.co.uk W: www.holmbridgecc.hitscricket.com 

Images courtesy of Holmbridge 

A match at our wonderful ground in 2009 

West Yorkshire 

side 

Holmbridge’s history 

stretches back 1868. 

However, it’s the modern 

day side, which play in the 

Huddersfield Central 

Cricket League that 

interested us here at Cricket 

Club Magazine. Martin 

Gledhill is the clubs 

Secretary and he spoke to 

us last month. 

“I’ve been a player at 

Holmbridge for 16 

years…. I think I initially I 

got into the second team as 

wicket keeper as I had my 

own gloves! I have been the 

club Secretary for the last 5 

years, where I do the 

majority of the paperwork 

and correspondence. Plus I 

administer the clubs 

website www. 

holmbridgecc.hitscricket. 

com - I’m also the Club 

Welfare Officer.” 

“Youth Cricket… is 

majorly important, if there 

are no juniors coming 

through the ranks then how 

will the club survive going 

forward? We have 3 junior 

teams, including one girl’s 

side. We have varying level 

of qualified and nonqualified 

coaches within 

the club, all of whom are 

invaluable assets to us.” 

“As we are in the 

Huddersfield…. Central 

Cricket League, we are not 

allowed to pay any players 

to come to the club. 

Therefore we remain one of 

the smaller teams in the 

area and still maintain close 

connections to local 

people.” 

In the next 5 

years I would 

like the club 

to ascertain 

ECB Clubmark 

accreditation. 

It’s something 

which we 

have been 

looking into 

and want to 

start working 

towards. 

“We are always looking 

to improve… our facilities 

at the club. The latest was 

the renovation of the 

shower area, which got 

completely re-designed. 

Then this was followed by 

upgrading the kitchen/tea 

room.” 

“We started a girls’ 

team this season…. and 

they have played a 

selection of competitive 

and friendly matches all 

over Yorkshire. The lack of 

opponents for them means 

they have to travel quite 

some distances to away 

games. However, I think all 

involved have enjoyed the 

first year’s experiences 

and I would hope they are 

looking forward to summer 

2011.” 

“Our most recent…. 

successful juniors to break 

into the adult teams have 

been brothers. Opening 

bowler Oliver Moorhouse 

has recently left to play in 

the higher standard in the 

Huddersfield District 

Cricket League. But his 

slightly younger brother, 

Ashley, is a very promising 

17 year old batsman. 

He is doing really well, 

plays in the first team and is 

a very good prospect for 

the future. His late father, 

Rob, used to play his 

cricket at Holmbridge and 


June 2010 


Serenity 

his uncle also used to play 

and was the groundsman 

for quite a few years.” 

“In the next 5 years… I 

would like the club to 

ascertain ECB Clubmark 

accreditation. It’s 

something which we have 

been looking into and want 

to start working towards. 

However, and more so, it’s 

about continuing to grow 

our junior members and 

teams. After all they are the 

future of the club.” 

-The club competes at 

and adult level in the 

Huddersfi eld Central 

Cricket League. The 

fi rst team are in the 

Premier Section and the 

second XI is in section C. 

Holmbridge has 2 junior 

(open gender) teams which 

play in the Huddersfi eld 

Junior Cricket League, 

plus a girl’s junior team 

playing as often as they 

can. 

-On Sunday the 22nd Aug 

this year the club did a 

sponsored walk to raise 

money both for club funds 

and for the local Kirkwood 

Hospice. 

-Annual Club Dinner - 

Meltham Golf Club on the 

23rd October 2010 



John Mosby - C W Harrison & Sons 

John Mosby, of CW 

Harrison and Son and 

Chairman of the club spoke 


recently about his 

association with the club… 

“I have been connected 

with the club for 

approximately six years 

now since my neighbour 

Scott Whitehead asked if 

my son wanted to play with 

the second team one 

Saturday. I started 

watching regularly and 

was occasionally coerced 

in to playing as well! I was 

then asked by the then first 

team Captain Mark 

Beaumont if I would 

become the full time scorer 

for the first eleven, which I 

still do today. 

Two years ago Haydn 

Haigh stood down after 25 

Frank Platt Electrical Ltd 

are very proud to sponsor 

Holmbridge Cricket Club 

Holmfirth: 01484 682036 

People prefer Platts 

Here at Frank Platt Electrical Limited we offer the latest electrical 

innovations offered to you by knowledgeable and friendly staff. As a family 

run business we are dedicated in providing excellentpersonal service and 

are proud suppliers of Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Technics, JVC, Sharp, 

Philips, LG, Dyson, Sky and Freeview. We stock a wide range of electrical 

appliances and home entertainment systems, including washing machines, 

cookers, fridgefreezers, dvd and home cinema digital video and stills 

cameras and the latest plasma technology. If we do not stock the item you 

require we can specially order in many other products. 

Zannussi • Whirlpool • Hotpoint • Bosch • Stoves 

Creda • Belling & Many more 

Holmfirth branch: 01484 682036 

24 Victoria Street, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire HD9 7DE 

www.frankplatt.com 

years’ service as Chairman 

and I was asked if I would 

take over. It is a very easy 

involvement with 

Holmbridge as it is such a 

friendly club (within 

ourselves at least), some 

other clubs may not agree! 

I can honestly say I 

consider all the committee 

members both senior and 

junior sections and all the 

players and wives as my 

friends rather than just 

club colleagues and I 

always look forward to my 

summer in Holmbridge.” 

auction digest 

C W Harrison & Son 

Proud to be associated with 


Monday 6th September 2010 at 10.30a.m prompt 

Sale to inc. Stock of car spares, clothing from a gents outtters, oce 

furniture & computer equipment, shop reception furniture. 

At 1.00p.m. prompt. Motor vehicles. 

At 2.00p.m. by catalogue description. Equipment & work benches 

from a LED light manufacturer etc. 

Monday 27th September 2010 – Specialist sale 

Including large qty of reproduction posters inc ships of the Cunard Line etc, 

stock of reproduction photo prints of past views of Hull, modern prints, 

collectable photographic equipment & cameras etc. 

C W Harrison & Son, 

Milner Way, Ossett, West Yorkshire, WF5 9JQ 

T: 01924 273661 E: auctions@cwharrison.com 

Holmbridge | Woodhead Road 

Highlander range of stoves 

All stoves with air wash systems and multifuel grates as 

standard. Giving you cleaner burn and superb eciency 

Proud Sponsors of 


Monday 20th September 2010 – General collective sale 

Including motor vehicles. 

Important Note:- Sale Mid October or before - 

sale of BOSE brand new surround sound systems & accessories, at screen TV’s etc. 

For further information regarding the sales 

please go to www.cwharrison.com 

24 25 

THE 

Highlander 8 

& Higlander 10 

Central Heating 

Boilers 

Telephone: 01484 682635 

Dunsleyheat Ltd, Bridge Mills, Hudderseld Road, Holmrth HD9 3TW 

email: sales@dunsleyheat.co.uk 

website: www.dunsleyheat.co.uk

Ardleigh Green | Central Park 

ardleigh green 

central Park 

Petersfield Avenue, Harold Hill, RM3 9PD 

T: 01708 371441 W: www.ardleighgreen.com 

Images courtesy of Ardleigh Green 

Team win 

The Essex village of 

Ardleigh in Romford 

is home to Ardleigh Green 

cricket club which was 

formed in 1940. The club 

runs five teams on Saturday 

in the Shepherd Neame 

Essex League and, in 2010 

the clubs 1st, 2nd & 3rd XI’s 

all competed in their 

respective 1st Divisions. 

In fact, Ardleigh’s 1st XI 

has just won promotion from 

the Division One 

Championship after another 

fantastic season meaning 

they will compete in the 

Premier Division next term. 

An exceptional community 

club they amply cater for the 

local population and benefit 

from a number of hard 

working volunteers who 

assist in the administration 

of the large colts section and 

junior section at the club. 

A range of functions and 

events will take place 

over the winter months at 

Ardleigh as their Central 

Park facility continues to 

provide a splendid setting 

for gatherings. 

COLTS 

PRESENTATION 

EVENING 

SATURDAY 25TH 

SEPTEMBER 2010 - 8PM 

ADULT PRESENTATION 


SATURDAY 9TH OCTOBER 

2010 - 7.30PM 

STOCK BROOK MANOR 


FRIDAY 21ST JANUARY 

2010 - 7.30 PM 

Images courtesy of Ardleigh Green 

0208 808 1001 

Proudly supporting Ardleigh Green Cricket Club 

Express shutters are manufacturers and installers 

of all types of Roller Shutters for industrial, 

commercial and domestic properties. 

Express House, 

Unit 12, 

The High Cross Centre, 

Fontayne Road, 

London N15 4QN 

www.expressshutters.co.uk 

express.shutters@btconnect .com 

Potterne 

W: www.potternecc.org.uk 

All images courtesy of Flickr Library 

Formed in 1936 

Potterne cricket club 

will celebrate its 75th 

anniversary next season 

with various functions. 

Potterne currently runs 

four Saturday sides, one 

Sunday side and seven 

junior sides. Positively, it is 

Clubmark Accredited, an 

ECB Focus Club and is 

proud participants in the 

Chance2Shine scheme 

which brings cricket back 

into state schools. 

Graham Gaiger has been 

1st XI Captain since 2005. 

He spoke to Cricket Club 

Magazine during the 

season about 

improvements at the club 

and wider community work 

in and around the Wiltshire 

village. 

“Youth cricket is 

massively important to 

us… Until about five years 

ago we had no youth 

cricket here at all. We’ve 

gradually grown the 

section and have good 

quality coaching. 

Positively, we’ve also been 

able to attract quality 

players to our club.” 

“We are a very friendly 

and approachable club… 

and run a very successful 

and social side which helps 

bring people together. We 

are also good at 

fundraising which has 

enabled us to invest in the 

facilities at the club.” 

“We are involved 

heavily with the… 

Chance2 Shine Scheme 

and it’s been a real 

positive for us. Also, the 

quality of our wicket is 

fantastic and we’ve been 

able to extend our 

facilities and purchase 

some very good 

equipment which has 

been part funded by the 

ECB. We were introduced 

to the ECB’s Clubmark 

scheme a few years ago 

and it has enabled us to 

get our house in order.” 

“Three years ago we 

entered into 

negotiations… with the 

leader of the Wiltshire 

Cricket Board. If we were 

to reach ‘ECB Focus Club 

Status’ we had to organise 

a girls’ team. So, we did 

and now run under 13’s 

and 15’s girls sides and 

are still working to 

establish a ladies side. In 

the future we want to 

sustain the number of 

players we have and 

increase the number of 

junior players coming 

through. We also aim to 

become more selfsufficient.” 

Aerospace • Defence • Hydraulic • Autosport • Fastener • Instrumentation • Telecommunications • Medical • Aerospace • Defence • Hydraulic • Autosport • Fastener • Instrumentation • Telecommunications • Medical 

The lst XI has just 

fi nished a creditable 3rd 

in the hugely competitive 

West of England Premier 

Cricket League. 

Avon 

Trophies 

Avon Trophies Limited 

Wharfside, Devizes, 

Wiltshire, SN10 1EB. UK 

Tel 01380 724630 

Fax 0845 4287988 

26 27 

Potterne 

Awards for Champions 

Sports Trophy, Engraved Glassware 

and more from Avon Trophies Wiltshire UK 

Sponsors of Potterne Cricket Club 

sales@avontrophies.co.uk 

www.avontrophies.co.uk

Spondon | Locko Road 

sPondon 

locko road 

144 Locko Road, Spondon, Derby DE21 7AR 

T: 01332 676658 E: info@spondoncricketclub.co.uk W: www.spondoncricketclub.co.uk 

Derbyshire club 

Spondon which was 

formed in 1883 benefits 

from having some of the 

best views of any club in 

the county and two 

magnificent pitches. The 

club also has a purpose 

built two-storey pavilion 

and excellent training 

facilities. 



Neil Kellogg earlier in the 

season. He originally 

started at the club as a 13 

year old and got involved 

again when his 10 year old 

son Thom joined junior 

practice sessions in 1980. 

Community and Youth... 

“As well as local school 

connections, we have links 

with the City Council who 

hold activities at the ground 

during school holidays. 

District and County 

representative matches are 

also held at our ground, 

and there is a strong 

connection with the 

Spondon Neighbourhood 

Board which is a volunteer 

organisation that seeks to 

improve all areas of village 

life in Spondon. Our ground 

will also be the 1st point of 

call when the village is 

judged in the ‘Britain in 

Bloom’ competition. 

Youth cricket is vital to our 

progress. Running 5 senior 

teams (4 on Saturdays and 1 

on Sundays) provides us 

with the opportunity to 

develop young players first 

through the Sunday league 

team and then into the 4th 

team who in the Derbyshire 

County league. Hopefully 

they will then make the 1st 

team who compete in the 

Derbyshire Premier league. 

Encouragingly, many of our 

1st team players have come 

through the Spondon youth 

system 

Our junior section is 

‘Headed’ by Sarah Bunting 

but we have a large group 

of volunteer coaches and 

team managers who get 

involved in coaching and 

running teams in league 

cricket. Wednesday 

evenings is a sight to be 

seen with up to 150 

children attending cricket 

practice from as young as 5 

through to 15 year olds. 

We also run 2 kwik cricket 

teams (1 x girls and 1 x 

boys), 2 under 11 hardball 

teams (1 x girls and 1 x 

boys), 2 under 13 teams, 1 

under 15 team and an under 

17 team. We aim to run an 

under 13’s girls team next 

season to help the girls 

continue with their cricket 

development. Our under 15 

boys’ team has recently 

become County 

champions.” 

Facility… 

“Our Locko Road ground is 

only 5 years old and was 

purpose built by a local 

building contractor who 

bought the old ground as a 

re-development site. 

It’s located on the edge of 

the village with marvellous 

views across the rural 

countryside to the west. 

The 1st floor clubroom has 

a balcony for spectators to 

watch matches, many of 

which conclude with the 

setting sun in the distance. 

The site also has two 

adjacent playing areas and 

the clubhouse has 5 

dressing rooms, which 

caters for 2 games to take 

place at the same time. 

We’ve also an additional 

dressing room for mixed 

sex cricket teams when 

necessary.” 

Ladies and girls 

cricket… 

“About 40 girls attend our 

Wednesday night practice 

sessions. It provides a base 

to run a girl’s kwik cricket 

team in a league which is 

made up predominantly of 

all boys’ teams. Helpfully, 

our coaches/team 

managers Sarah Fisher and 

Jane Frost are also involved 

with the development of 

girl’s cricket at a district 

level. 

18 years old Leah Kellogg 

has progressed through our 

junior section and plays in 

the men’s 3rd/4th team 

each week-end in the 

Derbyshire County league. 

She also plays senior 

county woman’s cricket for 

Derbyshire.” 

Talent... 

“We currently have 2 

young players playing 

County junior cricket for 

Derbyshire - Charlie 

Fern-Wright at under 13 

and Nick Rigg at under 15. 

The club has produced 

many excellent local 

cricketers over the years. 

Indeed, there are many 

players across the county 

who have started the 

playing days at Spondon 

including Jonny Owen. He 

went onto play County 

Championship cricket for 

Derbyshire in the mid 80’s.” 

Ambitions… 

“To be successful on the 

field and at the same time 

remain a community club 

that holds a special place in 

the lives of many people in 

the village of Spondon. 

Success on the field can 

be measured in many ways 

but having tasted the 

success of winning the 

Premier league 3 years ago 

that for me remains the 

‘’prize’’ and one that I 

personally would regard as 

showing that we have a 

successful playing set up. 

This is to be achieved with 

a background of being a 

CASC club (Community 

Amateur Sports Club). We 

do not pay players to play 

whereas most teams in the 

Derbyshire Premier league 

have.” 

Images courtesy of Spondon 

Cymru Alliance Champions Images courtesy of St James Montefi ore 

Clubhouse 

Sovereign 

Window Systems Ltd 

Are Proud to be the Main Sponsors of 

Spondon 


st James montefiore 

st James main ground 

Keymer Road, Ditchling, East Sussex BN6 8RE 

E: info@stjamescricket.com W: www.stjamescricket.com 

It sounds an 

extravagant name but 

East Sussex club St James’s 

Montefiore actually has a 

fairly humble early history. 

Founded in 1898, it takes 

its name from St James’s 

Street, off the Old Steine, in 

Brighton which was the 

location of the first 

recorded meeting of the 

Club. The Montefiore 

element comes from a 

recent amalgamation with 

Hove Montefiore Cricket 

Club. 

The club is located about 

six miles north of Brighton 

and currently compete in 

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the Sussex County League 

Division 2 in which they 

have just finished 5th in 

the table. Cricket Club 

Magazine spoke to their 

Secretary Roger Green 

during the season when 

they were well placed in 

3rd place. He first played 

for the club at twenty one 

and has been involved for 

over forty years. 

“In 1982 we got our 

own facility… which has 

now expanded into two 

adjacent grounds. We’ve 

also have a very large 

youth section which has 

expanded the playing 

membership. We knew 

that if we were to make 

real progress,’ growing 

our own’ talent was the way 

forward.” 

“The Sussex Cricket 

Board is very helpful… 

and keeps us up to date 

with what is required and 

the latest issues. Its good 

practice and we have to do 

it to retain our status as a 

Clubmark and Focus club, 

which is very important. 

We are open to everybody 

and take people in from the 

surrounding the area, 

although we don’t have a 

town we identify with 

particularly.” 

“We are not a wealthy 

club… but always try to 

St James Montefi ore | St James Main Ground 

improve. We are working 

with the ECB for example 

towards a possible 

expansion of our facility 

and will look to improve 

our nets. Our main focus is 

on the main eleven, but we 

manage to have a range of 

teams. In the near future 

we hope to get into the 1st 

Division and we will 

continue to expand on our 

youth section.” 

Lewis Hatchett who plays 

for Sussex is a recent 

product of the clubs 

impressive youth section. 

28 29 

THE 

WHITE 

HORSE 

DITCHLING 

Images courtesy of St James Montefi ore 

Pitch 

e The White Horse Horse Ditchling Ditchling is proud is proud to be suporting to be supporting St James’s this Monteore year’s Cricket village Club fair 

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Roger Green 


Match 

Cricket needs 

brightening up 

a bit. My 

solution is to let 

the players 

drink at the 

beginning of 

the game, not 

after. It always 

works in our 

picnic matches. 

Paul Hogan

Cheam | Peaches Close 

cheam 

Peaches close 

Station Way, Cheam, Sutton, Cheam, Surrey SM2 7BJ 

T: 020 8240 3500 F: 020 8240 3501 W: cheam.play-cricket.com 

All images courtesy of Nick Hill, Cheam 

1st team shot 

Surrey establishment 

Cheam Cricket Club is 

part of a larger Sports Club 

at Peaches Close and was 

formed in 1864.Cricket Club 

Magazine spoke to their 

Chairman and ex 2nd XI 

Captain, Nick Hill during 

the summer. The end of a 

hugely impressive season 

has seen the 1st XI 

promoted to the Premier 

League and the 2nd XI 

promoted to the 1st Division 

as champions. 

Cheam’s golden period 

was in the 1990’s when they 

got to Lords and the final of 

the NKO Cockspur Cup and 

won Divisions 1 and 2 of the 

Surrey Championship in 

1990. In the same period 

they won Division 1 in 1998 

and gained entry into the 

newly formed Premier 

Division for 1999. 

“I’ve been involved 

since…I was fourteen and 

enjoyed my Chairmanship 

since I took over in January. 

Interestingly for the last 

couple of years, the 

committee would run all 

club affairs, but we had to 

put more of a structure in 

place in order to achieve 

Clubmark. 

We are quite an informal 

club in some ways but 

certainly see the good 

points of the Clubmark. 

We’ve had to get involved 

because we are pushing for 

promotion and positively, it 

gets all of the essentials in 

place such as child welfare.” 

“Our Captain Danny 

Miller…was on Surrey’s 

books and has attracted 

some guys to come and play 

for us. Added to some of our 

talented youngsters, we’ve 

been able to build the 

nucleus of a very good first 

team.” 

“We are aware that… a 

number of clubs in Surrey 

pay players which we don’t 

and we don’t have a great 

deal of sponsorship and it’s 

something we would like to 

attract. We have to find 

quite a bit of money each 

year to pay for the rent on 

our ground which we do by 

much fundraising and 

having a large colts section 

which has well over 160 

kids.” 

“I’m not a believer in… 

paying players and think 

it’s a short term option. We 

are very much a club that 

wants to encourage people 

to stay and play for the club. 

We’ve a tremendous spirit 

and it’s a very friendly 

place to be. We pride 

ourselves on playing the 

game in the correct way. 

The players who play in 

the first team are involved 




Match day 


Captain Danny Miller 

even though they could be 

paid elsewhere, because of 

the great feeling at the club. 

It is very much a club and 

not just the four separate 

sides that we run on a 

Saturday.” 

-The club believes they 

arguably have the largest 

sight screen in the world. 

The wooden structure, 

which runs along one side 

of the ground is quite a 

feature and covers at least 

twelve cricket strips 

-Surrey’s 2nd XI play at 

Peaches Close twice a 

season 

-Ali Brown, Michael 

Carberry, John Batty, Mark 

Butcher and Zimbabwe’s 

Greg Lamb have all played 

for Cheam 


Steve Clark sweeps 


Sight screen 


Steve Clark drives for 6 

march town 

the avenue sPorts ground 

Burrowmoor Road, March, Cambs PE15 9RS 

T: 01354-652029 W: www.marchtowncricket.com 

The beautiful rural 

market town of 

March is in 

Cambridgeshire. It has a 

population of around 

18,000 and a cricket club 

which formed in 1880. 

March Town CC 

celebrated its 125th 

anniversary a few years 

ago. 

Les Mills is the Secretary 

of the Cambridgeshire 

Cricket Board and is also 

the Chairman of the club. 

Involved for 45 years, he 

remembers when they only 

had a first and second team 

and has seen much 

progress throughout the 

years. He spoke to Cricket 

Club Magazine last month. 

“We have to try and 

produce our own talent… 

Cricket is big in 

Cambridge which is close, 

but we do fairly well to with 

attracting players. 

Positively, Cambridge 

Cricket Club uses our 

facilities and we enjoy 

looking after them. The 

likes of Michael Vaughan 

and Ian Botham have 

played here in the past.” 

“The Cambridge Cricket 

Development Manager… 

is a club member and we 

take our ‘Clubmark’ 

accreditation seriously. We 

were first club in 

Cambridge to be 

accredited and have put a 

tremendous amount of 

hard work into it. I believe 

most of the things that the 

ECB requires leads to 

good practice and if you 

do abide you get a chance 

for grants.” 

“It’s our fourth year 

taking part… in the 

‘Chance2shine’ scheme 

which takes cricket into 

schools. Positively, it 

makes kids interested in 

partaking with the game. 

We ran some indoor nets 

for youngsters in winter 

last term and lots of 

players showed good 

progress. The scheme 

does cost lots of money, 

but it gives kids the 

chance to then find a club 

where they are able to 

continue.” 

“We are very much a 

community club… and 

have a girls’ team and a 

bowls club on site. We try 

to make use of our site, 

are open all year and 

benefit from also having a 

squash court. Every 

squash club player is a 

member of our cricket 

club meaning they can 

use our bar facilities. Also, 

we have a hockey club 

based at our facility. They 

play on the astro turf 

surface at a nearby school 

and then use our facility 

after games. We’ve also 

just added girl’s football 

for the winter months.” 

“Our Tuesday club, 

opened by Norma Major… 

is set up for disabled and 

elderly people to come 

along, have a cup of tea 

and play bingo. We also 

have church charity 

quizzes and darts and pool 

which are both very good 

for the bar takings. The 

local swimming club, table 

tennis league and the 

football disciplinary panel 

also meet here as well.” 

“People work very hard… 

to keep the place going 

and we are very proud of 

our ground. Our ambition 

Michael 

Kasprowicz 

“Don’t 

bowl him 

bad balls, 

he hits the 

good ones 

for fours.” 

referring 

to Sachin 

Tendulkar 

March Town | The Avenue Sports Ground 

is to stay in our current 

league and, if we ever get 

one or two extra players, 

we are financially sound 

enough to be able to 

progress into the East 

Anglia Premier League.” 

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builders merchants 

...we offer expert knowledge 

and product advice 

Martin Avenue March Trading Park 

March Cambs PE15 0BW 

Tel 01354 662000 

Open Monday to Friday 7.30am - 5pm 

Saturday 8am - 12noon 

www.ridgeons.co.uk 

30 31 

0202/10

Bridgwater | The Parks 

bridgwater 

the Parks 

Durleigh Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 7HR 

Tel: 07947 911459 Website: bridgwater.play-cricket.com 

Image courtesy of Pete Edmondson 

Bridgwater CC 1st X1, winners of the Somerset 

Major Cup 2010 after beating Bath by 10 wkts 

on 22nd August at Somerset CCC 

Established in 1839 

Bridgwater moved 

to their current site 

‘The Parks’ in 1925 

Mike Moran has 

been the 

Chairman of Somerset side 

Bridgwater for the last 

three years and on the 

committee for the last 

twenty one. He spoke to 

Cricket Club Magazine this 

month about a fine 

performance which has 

meant they’ve finished a 

superb 2nd in the West of 

England Premier League. 

The West of England 

Premier League was 

formed ten years ago and 

brought together all the 

senior clubs in Gloucester, 

Somerset, Wiltshire and 

Bristol meaning it covers a 

huge geographical area. 

Bridgwater were initially 

placed in Division 4 of the 

Somerset Division which 

they won in 2000 and went 

into Division 3 where they 

remained for five years. 

They then finished runners 

up three times in the first 

four years and, in 2005, 

won the Division without 

being beaten all season. 

They’ve managed to 

remain in Premier One for 

the last four seasons and 

are making some fantastic 

progress. 

Success… 

“It’s been down to sheer 

hard work and commitment 

from the players added to 

some superb work by our 

off field team, which I think 

Images of Bridgwater Cricket Club 

Mitchell Windsor 

is the best in the West of 

England Premier League. 

We’ve also benefited from 

the services of Michael 

Monday, a Somerset 

Professional and are proud 

that so many local 

Bridgwater boys are 

involved in the first team. 

We are very much a 

community club and have 

had a very successful 

‘Chance2shine’ program 

over the last two seasons 

Images courtesy of Pete Edmondson 

Bridgwater Captain Steve Davis receiving the Somerset 

Major Cup from S.C.B. Vice Chairman Andy Curtis 

Images courtesy of Bridgwater 

BCC 1xt X1 batsman called Josh Vickery 

which has been run by first 

teamer Josh Vickery. 

We also have the 

Clubmark accreditation 

and are a Senior Focus 

Club within Somerset. 

Chris Cowley, our Youth 

Co-Ordinator is an 

excellent administrator. He 

and his team have worked 

very hard again this year 

to maintain our standard.” 

Facilities… 

“Over the last two years 

we’ve invested in two 

portable nets and our 

ground is well appointed 

and maintained by two 

hard working grounds 

staff. 

We believe our 

hospitality is second to 

none and visitors certainly 

enjoy making the trip to 

For All Your Sub-Contract Machining Needs 

Bridgwater. We are very 

much a social club and 

attract a good number of 

spectators.” 

Challenges… 

“Into the next five years, 

maintaining sponsorship 

will be important for us. 

Lee Singleton works very 

hard in our commercial 

department to ensure we 

receive the fantastic 

backing we have in 

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when he was eighteen in 

1982 and opened the 

bowling until he was 42. 

His two sons play for the 

club at the moment. 

“Kit was an amazing 

man… and a fantastic 

cricketer. He did 

everything at the club 

and was still playing up 

until three years ago. I 

remember being at 40 for 

6 against Glastonbury 

when they won the 

league. Myself and Kit, 

who was in his late forties 

, put on 100 and he was 

hooking Joel Garner and 

Andy Ifill all over the 

place to save the day! 

I organised a golf day in 

his memory recently 

which involved 40 teams 

and we had to shut the 

whole course! It was a 

great testament to him 

and raised money for 

Ward 9 at Musgrove Park 

who looked after Kit so 

well.” 

“The current Director 

of Excellence… at 

Somerset, Jason Kerr is a 

good friend of mine. He 

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Selectors 

Paul Windsor is the 

main sponsor and 

Chairman of Selectors 

at Bridgwater. The 

possible future 

President spoke to 


this month about fond 

memories of Kit 

Barrington , the clubs 

recent success and his 

own hopes for the 

future. 

Paul joined the club 

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32 33 

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played for Bridgwater 

between 2004 and 2009 

and instilled a belief in 

us. After he joined we 

went up two divisions 

and began to win cups. 

He brought a professional 

attitude to what was 

already a very good 

cricket club. 

We’ve ended up second 

this year which is an 

amazing result. Nine of 

our home grown players 

played in the first team in 

our last league game. 

I’ve had lots to do with 

many of them because of 

my involvement with the 

under 15’s. It’s taken a 

while for our youth 

structure to show such 

results, but our hard work 

is beginning to pay off.” 

“The future is good… 

and we’ve an excellent 

structure at the club 

along with some loyal 

sponsors. We need to 

sustain what we have 

been able to achieve and 

make sure the club 

remains a positive place 

to be.” 

Bridgwater 

Cricket Club


recent years. We are very 

keen to maintain our status 

in the Premier Division and 

are certainly now big 

enough to be competing 

where we are. We are 

eventually dining at the top 

table after lots of hard work 

over the last ten years.” 

Mike Moran on Kit 

Barrington… 

“He was a legend within 

cricketing circles in 

Somerset and particularly 

in Bridgwater. He only 

packed in playing due to 

his leukaemia a few years 

ago at 62. He was still 

thrashing around in the 

third XI and enjoying it! 

He was a superb club 

cricketer and people who 

knew him in his heyday in 

the 70’s and 80’s would 

argue that he was as good a 

batsmen as there was in 

club cricket in Somerset at 

the time. He always thought 

well of younger players and 

had time for those who 

were not as good as him. 

Kit was very much a team 

man.” 

22nd October – Club 

DinnerEnd of November – 

Annual General Meeting 

T: 01278 422093 F: 01278 445292 

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21 St. Mary Street, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 3LX 

Kit Barrington – 

a local legend 

Former President Kit 

Barrington who died in 

May following a long 

illness was a well-known 

Bridgwater solicitor as 

well as a local 

sportsman. 

Impressively, along with 

his splendid cricketing 

exploits, Kit played for 

Bridgwater and Albion 

Rugby Club, was a 

five-time Somerset 

squash champion and 

played tennis at junior 

Wimbledon. He was 

writing a book about the 

history of cricket, which 

his family hope to 

complete in his memory. 

The Barrington Cric-Kit 

Bash day took place at 

Bridgwater on the 29th 

of August this year. The 

fund raising event, 

which included first and 

second team players 

and some oldies that had 

played with Kit, raised 

£2500 for Ward 9 at 

Musgrove Park. 

1.11.43 - 9.5.10 

C.B. (KIT) BARRINGTON 

Playing member for 40 years 

Four time Club Captain 

Life Member 2000 

President 1994 - 2010 

12,269 LEAGUE RUNS 

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Tudor 

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and Bar 27. 

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Barrington Scholfield 

11-12 King Square | Bridgwater | Somerset | TA6 3AH 

DX: 80600 Bridgwater 

T: 01278 422858 F: 01278 453437 

Article courtesy of Sally Barrington 

Article from Bridgwater Merc ury June 2006 

after he reached 12000 runs 

Service is provided by solicitors of England and Wales and is regulated 

by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. No.44020 

cartmel 

the fold 

3 The Fold, Cark in Cartmel, Grange over Sands LA11 7PA 

T: 015395 59200 E: m.hemming@virgin.net W: www.cartmelcricket.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Cartmel 

Champions 

Cartmel Cricket Club was 

founded in 1852 by The 

Earl of Burlington for workers 

on his Estate, and today, his 

ancestor, The Lord Cavendish 

of Furness is the Club 

President. 

The ground (as far as we 

know) is unique, as it is the 

only one in the country situated 

entirely within a race course, 

and on a lovely summers day 

there could be nowhere better 

to watch the game. 

The club would most likely 

consider the 70’s and early 80’s 

as the most prosperous time in 

its history. Cartmel won the 

League Championship, won 

the very first divisional cup 

and were area winners in the 

National Village Knock Out, 

travelling to Tudhoe as major 

underdogs and triumphing on 

the finest of margins. 

The 1970’s also saw a host of 

County players grace the turf 

at Cartmel, amongst them: 

Farokh Engineer, Brian 

Statham, Norman Gifford, Alan 

Welcome to the Royal Oak 

The Royal Oak is situated in the 

historic village of Cartmel, at the 

southern end of the Lake District 

Peninsula, very close to both the 

shores of Morecambe Bay and to 

Lake Windermere. 

With a short 2 minute walk distance 

to the famous Cartmel racecourse. 

REAL ALES 

REAL FOOD 

REAL PUB 

Ormrod and Imran Khan, all 

playing in the benefit matches 

the club staged, however, the 

best of all was when in 1978 

Cartmel publicised a match 

between the club and 

Worcester County CC. This 

was brought about by the 

friendship formed over the 

years between Basil D’Oliveira 

and the Club. 

Basil brought a team of 1st 

Class players to play the 

village boys as a thank you for 

the years of support Cartmel 

had given them. Over 3000 

spectators watched the matchnot 

bad for a village with only 

500 inhabitants. 

After some triumphant years, 

the mid 80’s at Cartmel saw a 

dramatic fall with many senior 

players retiring and the club 

ended with both teams in the 

bottom 2 divisions of the 

league. It was a bleak time and 

the club was in free-fall. It 

nearly didn’t survive. Many of 

the youngsters who enabled 

the club to carry on are still 

present today including David 

Unsworth, Tracey Williams, 

A Warm Welcome Guaranteed... 

The Square 

Cartmel 

Grange over Sands 

LA11 6QB 

Tony Hadwin, Ian Curwen and 

Heather Anderson. 

In 1991 Cartmel won Division 

4 and in 1992 both divisional 

cups came home to the club. 

Then, in 1998 Cartmel finally 

won promotion back into the 

1st division. The following year 

saw the 2nd XI crowned 4th 

division champions and so the 

good times were back. 

The last 8 years have seen 

mixed fortunes, but the club is 

strong and prospering. They 

currently host 2 healthy senior 

teams, 3 junior teams and 4, 

level 2 ECB coaches. They 

started this season by getting 

involved with Nat West Cricket 

Force and were one of 3 Clubs 

nominated for their work at the 

Cumbria ECB Oscars. 

Cricket Club Magazine spoke 

to committee member Tracey 

Williams last month before the 

1stXI had secured a fantastic 

double by winning the 

championship in the Heysham 

Port Westmorland League Div 

3 and the Division 3 Cup. 

Involved with the club in 

various capacities since she 

was a youngster, she’s the wife 

of current Captain Kevin 

Williams. 

“It’s been a great season… 

after a disappointing one last 

year when both our sides were 

relegated. We started the 

season on a high and won the 

first six games on the bounce. 

34 35 

01539 536259 

Ray 

Illingworth 

That 

black 

cloud is 

coming 

from the 

direction 

the wind 

is 

blowing, 

now the 

wind is 

coming 

from 

where the 

black 

cloud is. 

Cartmel | The Fold 

The social side has been 

fantastic and with the 

youngsters coming through, 

the whole club is pulling 

together.” 

“Although our pitch and 

playing facilities… are 

superb, we are desperately in 

need of some new facilities, 

but being located in the 

middle of a racecourse means 

we don’t have a lease meaning 

getting funding is difficult. 

However, longer term we are 

working with the landowner to 

try and update what we have.” 

“In the future we would like 

to develop… our junior sides 

and turn out four teams and to 

see our 2nd team improve 

further. We’ve have many 

young players coming through 

with potential added to a nice 

mix of older heads. We are in a 

small village of around 500 

people and we are fortunate 

enough to receive some 

excellent sponsorship from 

local businesses.” 

In 2002 Cartmel celebrated 

their 150th anniversary with 

matches, a celebration dinner 

and, for prosperity, a book. 

Titled ‘Twix Cock and Fairy’ you 

might well wonder why until you 

buy the book!! Copies are still 

available and, at only £5 for a full 

288 pages, it’s well worth the 

purchase. 

WE’RE IN THE ‘GOOD BEER GUIDE’ 2010! 

Food is available lunchtimes and evenings, 

including traditional Sunday carvery. 

Families are very welcome. 

Fully refurbished with 5 ensuite luxury rooms. 

STATION ROAD • CARK IN CARTMEL 

GRANGE OVER SANDS • CUMBRIA LA11 7NZ 

Tel: 015395 58341 • www.engineinn.co.uk

Harrogate | St Georges Road 

harrogate 

st georges road 

Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 9BP 

T: 01423 56130 E: harrogatecc@btconnect.com W: www.harrogatecricketclub.com 


Front entrance 

In 2008 a fire ripped 

through North 

Yorkshire side Harrogate’s 

112 year old Pavilion. 

Unfortunately the beautiful 

old building was a right off 

but set in motion plans for a 

sparkling new facility at 

their St. George’s Road 

home. 

A club member since 

2004, Steve Culleton has 

been Harrogate’s Chairman 

since 2008 after being 

elected to the position. 


wanted to find out how the 

club has responded since 

the fire and where it sees 

itself in the future. We 

spoke to him this month. 

Your new facility 

promises to be a 

fantastic asset to the 

club and the area, you 

must be excited by the 

prospect of the build? 

“To a certain extent the fire 

caused us to press the pause 

button, in terms of our club 

development. We were able 

to press on successfully with 

our Clubmark and Focus 

Club applications. However 

the ability to plan and budget 

has been exceedingly difficult 

and will remain so until the 

spade goes in the ground 

and the first foundations are 

laid. Certainly, the prospect 

of a shiny new, purpose built 

facility is mouth-watering. We 


Plague 


Scoreboard 

are so grateful to the YCB, 

ECB and the Local Authority 

for all the help that they 

have provided in bringing 

these plans to fruition.” 

I’d imagine it 

will help with your 

community club status? 

“Geographically we are at 

the centre of a very large 

community. On a more 

practical level, we enjoy 

very close links with the 

local schools, providing 

coaching during and after 

school. We work closely 

with both YCB and ECB 

to spread the cricketing 

gospel to all kids regardless 

of ability. Being part of the 

‘Chance2shine Programme’ 

and being an accredited 

ECB Focus Club we are able 

to significantly contribute 

to the growth of cricket 

within our town already. 

We’ve have over 150 youth 

members and the highest 

number of accredited 

coaches in the county. This 

is co-ordinated by our 

incredibly dedicated Junior 

Cricket Chairman Steve 

Clark. Our actual coaching 

plans are co-ordinated by our 

own in house level 3 coach 

Andy Hawkswell, who has 

brought a new dimension to 

the club and taken coaching 


Match 

onto the next level. 

As of next season we 

will be hosting Yorkshire 

Ladies County Cricket at 

the County Ground. We 

are also in the process of 

re-establishing our own 

ladies side, together with two 

or three junior girl’s sides. 

We have some very talented 

junior female Cricketers. 

Charlotte North has crashed 

a century for Yorkshire 

against Lancashire, earlier 

this season and played 

competitive league cricket 

for both our 3rd Xi and our 

development squad. We see 

Ladies cricket as becoming 

an integral part of our club.” 

What are the 

biggest challenges the 

game faces at your 

club and in the local 

area over the next 5 

years? 

“Harrogate recently 

hosted the Golden Oldies 

International Cricket 

Tournament and the entire 

Australian contingent 

commented on the amount 

of cricket played in our area. 

The net result is that 

ESTATE AGENTS • CHARTERED SURVEYORS • NEW HOMES 

LETTINGS & MANAGEMENT • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY CONSULTANTS 

PLANNING & LAND •AUCTIONEERS 

Paul Baxter (Area Manager) and all of the 

Dacres Team are proud to support 

Harrogate Cricket Club 

Yorkshire’s Finest Property Awards 

Double Winners in 2008 and 2009 

The Estate Agency of the Year Awards 

Gold: Best Medium Size Northern Agency 

Bronze: Best UK Medium Size Agency 

01423 877200 

pdb@dacres.co.uk www.dacres.co.uk 

17 Albert Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1 1JX 


The clubhouse 

talent is spread very 

thinly and very unevenly, 

throughout Yorkshire. We 

have already seen clubs 

having to withdraw sides 

from Leagues due to a 

lack of interest. There is no 

discernable tier system in 

club cricket to channel ability 

which has resulted in some 

prodigious talent not being 

spotted and or developed.” 

What are the clubs 

ambitions for the next 5 

years? 

“We want to be able to have 

committee meetings where 

Harrogate | St Georges Road 

we are able to talk about 

cricket rather than planning 

permission and building 

regulations! We’d also be 

keen to host a ladies test 

match and have our top three 

sides playing competitive 

cricket in the top division 

of their respective Leagues. 

Finally, we want to encourage 

healthy social Sunday 

cricket, any clubs who 

fancy a day out in Harrogate 

should drop us a line.” 

36 37

ECB Funding and Facilities | Bruce Cruse 

england & wales cricket board 



cricket club interviews 

funding and facilities manager—bruce cruse 


Neil Fairbairn - Pitch Vision / MiSPORT 

Images courtesy of E.C.B. 

Pavilion design stage 

Bruce Cruse is 

the Funding and 

Facilities Manager 

for the England 

and Wales Cricket 

Board (ECB) 

An Australian and ex 

first class cricketer 

with a facilities 

development background 

he moved to the UK in 1993 

initially working in the 

finance industry until an 

opportunity with 

Lancashire County Cricket 

Club arose. 

After working for the club 

for a few years he ended up 

as Secretary of the Cricket 

Board but it wasn’t really in 

keeping with his interests. 

When the opportunity to 

take up his current role 

came along, eleven years 

ago, he jumped at the 

opportunity. 


caught up with Bruce in 

Manchester, where his 

head office is based. 

“When I first came into 

this post… I was a single 

officer with no staff and the 

role was based around 

writing bids for the ECB to 

try and arrange finance 

into the game to then 

distribute out to the 

respective clubs. Over 

time, we started to build a 

larger public funding 

portfolio and this increased 

from around £2.5 million to 

£14 million in terms of 

business. 

In 2005, when we signed 

our deals with SKY, the 

management board were in 

a position to allocate 

revenue directly into club 

cricket which included a 

larger grant scheme and an 

interest free loan scheme. 

The grants were more 

focused and would go to 

the ‘focus club network’ 

whilst interest free loans 

were broader based and 

open to other clubs. By 

then, the £14 million had 

jumped to £42 million, 

almost overnight, and the 

scaling up of the program 

required more staff and 

more services. The 

program moving forward is 

still growing.” 

“In Australia the vast 

majority… of cricket takes 

place outside and the way 

the game is played is 

different. The philosophy is 

about making sure 

whatever you do comes 

back to the common 

denominator and that there 

is a reason for doing it. I 

now remind my staff that it’s 

not about spread sheets or 

contracts, there are real 

people involved. Whilst 

there are certain things you 

have to do, you must be 

conscious that, ultimately, 

it’s the people involved that 

make things work or not.” 

“Put simply, we have a 

broad facility program… 

and it’s about the allocation 

and the negotiation of the 

resources the game has 

- put to the best effect. If you 

can find other partners and 

supporters to help fund 

programs then that’s great. 

Our national facility 

strategy at the moment cost 

roughly half a billion 

pounds and my budget is 

just over 55 million. So, it’s 

crucial to find people who 

share ideas if we are to 

bridge the gaps. 

It’s a constant balancing 

act but the majority of the 

investment at the top end of 

cricket is done and dusted, 

so the balance of power in 

terms of finance now rests 

more in the grass roots of 

the game. We are working 

towards the government’s 

target of 30% of our 

investment into the grass 

roots. 

Certainly, in these testing 

financial times we are not 

going to be able to write a 

cheque for every cricket 

club in the country but we 

will definitely have finance 

to support clubs moving 

forward in a scale that we 

perhaps have not seen 

before.” 

“We are part public 

funded… along with being 

funded by our own income. 

Contracts with government 

CONTINUED ON P.40 

“I think most cricketers are pretty 

familiar with hawkeye and ball 

by ball analysis on Television”, 

says Neil Fairbairn of cricket tech 

company miSport. “These days the 

game is constantly broken down 

with pitch maps, 3D replays and 

wagon wheels. It’s become part of 

the culture of the game really. 

The problem has been that there 

was no practical manner for making 

this kind of technology and 

feedback available to the everyday 

player, club or school.” 

This is exactly where miSport’s 

new “PitchVision” product comes 

in. Just like a television broadcast, 

PitchVision automatically tracks 

every ball from release, right 

through to where the batsman 

places his shot providing instant 

feedback on pace, line length, 

bounce, deviation, stroke selection, 

placement and distance - and 

even scores and catches against 

a ‘virtual’ field setting. All of this 

information is presented straight 

to a laptop which has dozens of 

different reports for displaying 

the player’s performance. 3D, 

PitchMaps, Manhattans, integrated 

Video capture and plenty more. 

This is cutting edge stuff, but the 

surprising thing is that it is packaged 

for any club, school or player 

to afford and use. It can be set up in 

any net, indoor or outdoor in about 

10 mintues, and can be used by up 

to 6-8 players batting and bowling 

simultaneously- no special balls or 

bat required. 

“It’s perfect for assessing performance 

across an entire session, 

or between sessions or according 

to any training targets set by the 

coach” says Fairbairn. “It doesn’t 

replace a coach, but it adds a 

whole new level to what a coach 

and player (and parents) can see, 

analyse and be guided by. The 

feedback and competitive element 

can be a real spur in encouraging 

participation and improvement.” 

“Let’s be realistic: technology is 

rapidly integrating with every aspect 

of life and in 4-5 years players will 

probably look back at this era and 

ask: “You didn’t know how fast you 

bowled? You didn’t have Pitch-Maps? 

It is a bit of an information revolution 

we know, but we’ve been seeing this 

kind of data on TV for years now. Kids 

and club players are crying out for 

this kind of feedback at their level. 

The important thing is that PitchVision 

doesn’t dictate how you coach or train 

– it simply gives you the information 

you need to improve.” 

“Our motto is, ‘Every ball mapped, 

Every shot scored, Every wicket 

recorded, Every detail for every 

player!’ ” 


38 39 

FEATURES: 

When bowling PitchVision; 

• Records every balls, pace, line, 

length, bounce, deviation 

• Records foot position on the 

bowling crease 

• Reports how often you are landing 

your stock ball or wicket ball 

• Provides PitchMaps and Stump 

maps (in 2D and 3D) of every spell 

When Batting, PitchVision: 

• See whether your shots would 

have pierced the field 

• Identify the specific deliveries are 

giving you trouble 

• Compare your performance 

against different bowlers 

• Bat in real game scenarios, 

scoring against real field settings 

• See a complete wagon-wheel of 

shots from the session 

• Confirm whether you are getting 

to the pitch of the ball 

Neil Fairbairn is Marketing Director 

at miSport, makers of PitchVision 

Neil.Fairbairn@misport.com ph. 020 

239 7543



are treated with the same 

rigour as if we were the 

Ministry Of Defence. We 

try to present, in a delicate 

way, the contractual rigour 

in what we are doing. In 

some cases there is no 

easy way to do that but we 

attempt to simplify things 

and present the options as 

either a grant or a loan. 

Our grant program is 

effectively a combination 

and a synergy of what the 

management board wants 

from us to deliver and also 

what our contract with the 

government asks us to do.” 

“We work from three 

offices… with the head 

office being at Old 

Trafford. In that office we 

have the Northern 

Regional Facilities and 

Funding Manager. The 

Midlands Manager is 

based at Edgbaston and 

the South West & London 

and South East Managers 

are based at Lords. 

Whilst they are not 

necessarily positioned 

within their local region 

Telephone: +44 (0)1621 868700 

Universal Services specialise in 

the supply and installation of 

indoor cricket netting and have a 

full range of outdoor cricket 

equipment including cages, sights 

screens and wickets. Our indoor 

cricket netting has been installed 

into hundreds of educational 

establishments, dedicated cricket 

centres and leisure centres 

throughout the UK and across 

the world including Lords Cricket 

Ground Indoor School, MC 

Academy, Mumbai and Hong 

Kong Cricket Club. For more 

information please visit our 

website or call our Sales 

Department on the number 

below. 

Cricket Equipment Suppliers 

Tel: +44 (0)1621 868700 

Fax: +44 (0)1621 860697 

www.universalservicesuk.co.uk 

info@universalservicesuk.co.uk 

Universal Services 

Beckingham Business Park 

Tolleshunt Major, Maldon 

Essex CM9 8LZ, England 

they are regularly out and 

about in those areas doing 

important work. They 

effectively mirror the 

national model and will 

therefore regularly have 

meetings with regional 

RFU and FA 

representatives and deal 

with counties within their 

regions.” 

“We recently 

produced…a guidance 

note called ‘Developing a 

Project – from Concept to 

Completion’ because in 

some cases we’ve found 

that people who are 

championing projects at 

clubs come from a whole 

host of different skill sets 

and a range of different 

environments. 

The skills required to 

deliver a facilities project 

are very distinct and, if you 

don’t understand that, or 

are not from that 

background, then every 

hurdle seems a 

monumental one. The 

document has been 

developed to help people 

become fully aware of what 

needs to be done before 

they embark on a project.” 

“Whilst initial work… in 

term of sports development 

for clubs is with their 

county, in terms of 

technical work, a club can 

call one of my team 24/7 

and they will either send 

out advice or come and 

have a site consultation. 

They are trained to do 

technical sessions and it’s 

a free service, so I’d 

encourage clubs to make 

the most of it. We’ve also 

many documents to view, 

sitting free of charge, on 

our website which is 

exceptionally up to date.” 

“We give generic advice 

within the industry… and 

sign post membership 

bodies such as the Royal 

Institute of British 

Architects and offer a 

certain amount of guidance 

on lists of companies/ 

people who we do not 

necessarily approve, but 

who we know work to a 

consistent standard.” 

“We are going to create a 

new section of our 

website… to complement 

our ‘Pavilions and 


Proposed Harrogate Pavilion 

Clubhouses’ document 

which will be a web based, 

one stop suite for people to 

design a pavilion. We hope 

it will spark ideas and it 

suggests ways forward 

regarding materials and 

finishes. Part of the idea is 

to create models based on 


Proposed Stirling County Pavillion 

the design guidance. 

When it’s finished there 

will be five different layouts 

and four different 

treatments on offer. What 

we have found is that 

actually there is no design 

vocabulary for cricket. 

Many people think about 

the Victorian or 

quintessentially English 

look but in fact that look 

originated in France! 

After two and half years of 

research we found that the 

actual traditional aspect is 

the layout inside which 

means the changing rooms 

to the sides and the social, 

central area. 

We are trying to give the 

message that today’s young 

cricketers may well not 

have any connection with a 

Victorian building and are 

possibly more likely to 

want to see something that 

they see on the high street. 

Also, there are certain 

communities that don’t want 

to be anywhere near what 

Victorian architecture 

represents.” 

“Harrogate Cricket 

Club’s new pavilion… will 

be funded by us. It’s 

interesting in that we have 

followed the project from 

day one. Their facility 

burned down in an arson 

attack and we’ve managed 

to pull a program together 

that ultimately finished up 

in a positive redevelopment 

plan. 

Once completed it will be 

one of the first sustainable 

buildings that has been 

born out of the document 

and is exciting from that 

perspective because it 

shows a whole new 

direction. The project, 

which will be completed by 

the end of March, follows 

one of our design plans.” 

“Our vision… is to create 

a new cricketing landscape, 

create opportunities and 

influence others where we 

can. We are keen to 

continually improve what 

we are doing, not just in 

terms of the business, but 

also in terms of what 

Cricket Clubs look like. It 

means sometimes the 

process involves us teasing 

out of what clubs truly want, 

what is in their best 


Proposed Broughton Pavilion 

interests and is the best 

value. 

In terms of the longer term 

future, it’s rather uncertain 

times although our 

immediate future is secure 

and we will continue to be 

able to support clubs. Also, 

there will be more money 

coming into new facility 

schemes in the next two to 

three years. 

As a game we can only 

extend how far we know 

our commercial contracts 

will allow. We don’t know 

what the next SKY contract 

for example will look like, 

so there are some 

unknowns. Added to that is 

the economic climate we 

have in this country and the 

current government’s 

possible attitude towards 

public money spending 

within sport. 

We are also aware that 

energy costs are going to 

rise and the cost of playing 


sport will increase. Future 

government policy on 

climate change will mean 

that all non-domestic 

buildings must create as 

much energy as they use. 

It’s a further challenge, but 

I believe the ECB and my 

CEO understand the value 

of facilities. It’s my 

expectation that we will 

continue to receive strong 

support.” 

Check out – ‘Pavilions and 

Clubhouses’ ‘Developing 

a Project From Concept to 

Completion’ and ‘Sources 

of Grant Aid and Funding 

For Cricket Clubs’ all 

available at - www.ecb. 

co.uk/development/ 

facilities-funding 

40 41



Work on the footings for NCCG Pavilion 



Lynda Green - Terrain Aeration 

Terrain Aerations deep drill, 

a three wheeled, selfpropelled 

unit, driven by a 

Kubota 950, 21hp engine has a 

ground pressure of just 9 psi 

and is capable of treating 

approximately 240 sq metres 

of turf per hour and is 

particularly suited to wickets. 

Operations Director of the 

company, Lynda Green spoke 

to Cricket Club Magazine about 

the advantages of its use in the 

winter months. 

“The drill drives continually 

down and then straight back 

up meaning it doesn’t damage 

the surface like other 

machines do. The spoil that is 

then brought to the surface can 

then simply be swept up. 

In the mid 1970’s many used 

a diluted concrete mix on 

pitches with the idea being 

that when it set it would 

provide a firm base. It was 

only later on that people 

began to think more about 

aeration. This machine 

improves the root growth and 

has been used very 

successfully after we imported 

it from the USA in 1992. 

We recommend its use 

around late October and 

November after normal 

maintenance and after 

reseeding. Once the seed has 

taken and set we run over the 

surface with the machine and 

put our holes in. 

Immediately after Essex 

CC’s final game in September 

1992, we took 2 hours to do 

one length of the wicket and it 

wore out a complete set of 60 

drills because the ground was 

so hard and dry! We then did 

Sussex CC’s wicket the 

following year in November 

and it worked out much better. 

So, it was finally agreed that 

the best time of year is after 

some decent rainfall.” 

60 tungsten tipped, 16mm 

diameter drills on a 12 by 5 

grid with 125mm spacing’s 

give a drilling area of 1 square 

metre per cycle. These drills 

bore into the top 250mm of soil 

TERRAIN 

AERATION 

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Web: www.terrainaeration.com 

beneath the turf encouraging 

healthy root growth, 

improving surface drainage 

and increasing the uptake of 

nutrients. The Deep Drill is the 

perfect top surface treatment 

to compliment Terrain 

Aeration’s one-metre deep, 

Terralift aeration treatment. 

Terrain Aeration is a worldwide specialist 

in one-metre deep aeration and 

de-compaction. The only UK company 

using the Terralift system to inject 

compressed air through a probe 

inserted one metre below the surface, 

Terrain Aeration have adapted and 

improved on the original Terralift concept 

and now field a unique range of 

Airforce Terralift machines to suit your 

requirements. 

lashings gala dinner 

mcc—lords cricket ground 

St John’s Wood, London, NW8 8QN 

Images courtesy of Lashings 

Chris Harris awarding Ian Harvey with Player of the Season 

Lashings World XI 

End of Season Gala 

Dinner – 3rd of 

September 2010 

Lord’s Cricket 

Ground 

St John’s Wood 

London NW8 8QN 

NOT every pub team 

can hire Lord’s to 

hold its end-of-season 

award ceremony, but it’s 

been a while since 

Lashings have been a pub 

team in the truest sense of 

the word. 

Now billed, with some 

justification, as a team of 

cricketing “galacticos,” 

when they formed in 1984 

after a drinking session in 

a Maidstone pub, Lashings 

were genuinely hopeless. 

They lost their first game 

by 294 runs, but a seed had 

been sown and for the next 

few seasons the team 

competed respectably in 

the local leagues until fate 

intervened in 1995, when 

the club’s chairman David 

Folb received a phone call 

from Richie Richardson’s 

agent. 

Richardson, effectively 

burnt out as an 

international cricketer, was 

looking to play cricket for 

purely recreational 

reasons somewhere near 

London while he focused 

on his business 

commitments. 

Sensing an opportunity 

Folb agreed, though when 

the story was broken by 

Mark Bristow of the Kent 

Messenger, it was greeted 

by widespread derision, 

prompting Meridian News 

presenter Geoff Clark to 

say he’d eat his hat if it 

came true. 

This admittedly wasn’t 

the greatest of sacrifices 

for Clark, who was never 

the fussiest of eaters, but 

Richardson duly arrived 

and Lashings began to 

rout all-comers, as Junior 

Murray, Stuart Williams, 

Sherwin Campbell and a 

young Muttiah 

Muralitharan followed his 

trail. 

When the club, still 

considered a “works team” 

by the Kent League and 

therefore ineligible for 

promotion to the top 

divisions, hit a glass 

ceiling, Richardson 

instigated a change of 

strategy. 

Lashings became the 

“World XI” it is today, a 

team consisting entirely of 

international-class players 

who tour England and 

elsewhere playing 

exhibition games. It’s 

actually quicker to list the 

world stars who haven’t 

played for Lashings in the 

last decade than those 

who have: this year’s 

A-listers included 

Richardson, Saqlain 

Mushtaq and Henry 

Olonga, who opened this 

year’ Gala Dinner with a 

recital of the Lord’s prayer. 

(“Will he do it the club 

style now?” someone 

quipped at its end.) 

The gala evening raised 

over £100,000, with several 

charities benefiting and it 

was revealed that Lashings 

are hoping to tour the USA, 

a development that 

provoked some deadpan 

humour from Mohammad 

Akram, who told the 

audience how much he was 

looking forward to the 

prospect of getting through 

immigration with his 

Pakistani passport. 

Ed Giddins then 

performed a double act 

with the comedian Scott 

Charlton, before Henry 

Blofeld took to the stage to 

interview Darren Gough, 

who told an audience of 

over 500 people that his 

Lashings Gala Awards Dinner | Lords 


Lashings Sponsors: 

Ian Isaac – Lombard, Harry Benning – Benning Brothers, Robin O’Grady – Wiliams de Broe 


Former West Indian Captain, Richie Richardson 

debut consisted of 

“drinking eight pints, 

having a threesome and 

then claiming five-for.” 

Gough sounded positively 

tame compared to Blofeld 

however, who paid a 

‘moving’ tribute to the late 

Princess Margaret, before 

starting an eye-watering 

poetry recital. 

The coolest customer of 

the night was Chris Harris 

however. At one point he 

grabbed the microphone 

and said: “I’ve just been 

told there’s been an 

earthquake in 

Christchurch and that my 

house has been destroyed, 

but everyone’s ok, so 

there’s nothing to worry 

about.” 

With the US tour in the 

pipeline and the annual 

Emirates Palace festival 

already confirmed for 2011, 

at Lashings at least Harris 

is on solid foundations. 

42 43

Billericay | The Toby Howe Cricket Ground 

billericay 

the toby howe cricket ground 

Rutters Field, Blunts Wall Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 9SA 

T: 01277 655202 W: v1llage@hotmail.com W: www.billericaycricket1875.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Bilericay 

Stewart Batting 

Essex side Billericay’s 

Captain is Stewart 

Rutland. He spoke to 


month about a club clearly 

on the move after locating 

to its fantastic new Toby 

Howe Cricket Ground home 

on Blunts Wall Road in the 

town. 

“I joined the club when I 

was ten… meaning I was at 

the club before we moved 

to our new ground, and 

having played all my 

cricket for Billericay to 

captain the 1st Eleven is a 

great achievement, and its 

something that I am 

thoroughly enjoying. This 

year I’ve also taken on the 

role of Commercial 

Manager on the committee, 

and I hope to continue to 

raise the profile of our club 

within the community.” 

“The biggest challenge 

working on the 

committee… is about 

trying to marry up what you 

can do with the 

expectations of the club as 

a whole, as commercial 

manger I am trying to 

promote our wonderful 

facilities to the local 

communities whilst also 

trying to attract new 

sponsorship. 

Being part of a committee 

is a voluntary role and 

we’ve got to balance our 

time in order to make the 

most of what we are doing. I 

already work within the 

sports industry as a Sports 

Development Officer 

meaning I’m able to use the 

knowledge and the 

experience I’m gaining to 

help the club. 

“When the first team won 

the Division 3 title… a 

couple of years ago it was 

with a fresh young side 

which also featured some 

talented older players. 

Over the last few years the 

team spirit of the first team 

has been fantastic and it’s 

started to rub off 

throughout the club. 

In order for a club to be 

successful long term you 

have to have the correct 

atmosphere, which we do. 

It’s something we continue 

to work on and the club is 

beginning to move forward 

once more.” 

“Because of our excellent 

facilities… we’ve been 

hand-picked by Essex as a 

venue for their 2nd XI and 

development squads. 

We’ve links with the wider 

community. We work with 

local school schools and 

coaching sessions for 

disabled groups. We also 

hire our venue for parties 

and winter nets, there is 

real sense that the whole 

community can benefit 

from what we have here. 

We always welcome people 

along to support us, and 

encourage new members. 

We are working towards 

our Clubmark status which I 

think shows our 

commitment to the club and 

the community as a whole.” 

“Over the winter we are 

looking… to continue to 

build on all of the hard 

work everyone involved 

has put in here, and we will 

be looking to recruit some 

new players to aid our bid 

for promotion. Division 1 

would be our aim in the 

next five years and we 

would then be keen to 

establish ourselves within 

that league. Certainly, it 

will take some work, but it’s 

possible. We want all of our 

teams to push on as much 

as they can. It’s a good club 

to play for and one that is 

certainly going places.” 

A lovely setting for 

cricket… 

Billericay are lucky 

enough to own their own 

ground which has two 

splendid pitches. Due to 

their link with Essex they 

are fortunate enough to 

have the services of a full 

time, professional 

groundsman which makes 

for outstanding surfaces. 

An impressively large 

youth set up and an 

academy… 

Billericay has sides 

represented at Under 9’s, 

under 11’s, under 13’s, 

under 15’s and under 16’s 

levels and the club is lucky 

to have two coaches (at 

least) per team. 

Billericay concentrate on 

one to one coaching with 

the most talented 14-19 year 

olds which focuses on core 

skills. To assist in the 

training they use up to date 

video analysis equipment. 

As part of the development 

of the players they took the 

under 19 side to Barbados 

last year, Stewart said “it 

was a great opportunity for 

the young players to 

experience different 

conditions and play against 

some top class players, 

including the West Indies 

under 19 captain Kraigg 

Brathwaite. We are keen to 

develop as many good 

young cricketers for 

Billericay so that we can 

continue to build a 

successful club for the 

future”. 

Main Building… 

Ground Floor Four 

changing rooms and two 

indoor net lanes with video 

analysis facilities 

Upstairs Bar kitchen, 

balcony and a viewing area 

for the nets 

Billericay currently run 5 

league Saturday League 

sides, a sixth eleven, a 

Sunday league side and a 

Vets team 

Billericay | The Toby Howe Cricket Ground 

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44 45

Gloucestershire | The County Ground, Nevil Road 

gloucestershire 

the county ground, nevil road 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB, THE COUNTY GROUND, NEVIL RD, BRISTOL BS7 9EJ 

T: 0117 9108000 E: reception@glosccc.co.uk W: www.gloscricket.co.uk 

Cricket reached 

Gloucestershire in 

the 17th century with the 

related sport of “Stow-Ball” 

being played in the county 

during the 16th century. 

This successfully competed 

with other popular 

pastimes such as burning 

witches or fighting your 

neighbours in the English 

Civil War; as was the vogue 

at the time. 

The exact date of 

Gloucestershire CCC 

foundation is uncertain, but 

it’s assumed that the year 

was 1870. The club plays 

most of its home games at 

the County Cricket Ground 

in Bristol. However, each 

season a number of games 

are played at both the 

Cheltenham Cricket 

Festival, the longest 

running Cricket Festival of 

its type in the world, and 

Gloucester. 

Never ‘stumped’ for a 

clever quip, Groucho Marx 

once said, “Say, when do 

they begin” while watching 

a cricket match. He 

wouldn’t have thought this 

if he had the opportunity to 

watch the clubs limited 

overs team. The 

Gloucestershire Gladiators 

enjoyed a run of success in 

one-day cricket in the late 

1990s and early 2000s, 

winning several titles. 

The format of limited over 

cricket has become 

increasingly dynamic with 

floodlit games, multi 

coloured shirts with player 

names and squad numbers 

printed on them. The 

Gladiators play in blue and 

would have undoubtedly 

gained the approval of 

Australian actor, Paul 

Hogan, as he claimed that; 

“Cricket needs brightening 

up a bit. My solution is to let 

the players drink at the 

beginning of the game, not 

after. It always works in our 

picnic matches.” 

It’s debatable if this 

‘innovation’ would have 

improved Gloucestershire 

CCC fortunes. Although 

they have never won the 

County Championship 

(runner up six times) their 

place in cricket folklore is 

assured with legendary 

characters such as W G 

Grace, who was the club’s 

captain for 28 years until 

1898. Another cricketing 

great was Willie Hammond. 

The sports ‘bible’ - Wisden 

Cricketers’ Almanack - 

described him in his 1965 

obituary as one of the four 

best batsmen in the history 

of cricket. He scored 

50,551 runs, the seventh 

highest total scored by any 

first-class cricketer and 

took 732 wickets. 

Hammond also scored 167 

centuries, the third highest 

of any player – he must 

have seemed like the 

Terminator to opponents… 

in flannels. 

Over the last few years 

Gloucestershire has 

challenged strong strongly 

for promotion from the 

County Championship 

Second Division and they 

finished a creditable 5th 

place this term. Such a club 

deserves to be competing 

against the best. 

All images courtesy of Flickr Library 

Gloucestershire | The County Ground, Nevil Road 

46 47

Bournemouth | Chapel Gate St Just | Cape Ground 

bournemouth 

chaPel gate 

East Parley, Christcurch, Dorset, BH23 6BD 

T: 01202 581933 E: bournemouthcc@hotmail.com W: www.bournemouthcc.co.uk 

All images courtesy of Flickr Images 

Saturday Third XI versus Bearminster 

Bournemouth is 

believed to be one 

of the largest cricket clubs 

in the country and benefits 

from high quality facilities 

at its Bournemouth Sports 

Club home. With four 

pitches and two pavilions 

(one constructed with the 

help of a £50,000 grant 

from the ECB’s Community 

Club Development Fund) 

the club is of an ample 

enough size to cater for an 

ever growing youth section. 



Rob Coombs and his wife 

and Colts Secretary Jill 

Coombs over the summer 

to find out more about the 

Dorset side who have just 

won the ECB Southern 

Premier League Division 1. 

Rob Coombs 

“Our recent success 

has… been down to some 

great team spirit and a 

good set of youngsters 

coming through. Everyone 

is contributing and our 

huge youth section, which 

involves fourteen sides 

from under 9’s up to under 

16’s are showing some 

tremendous progress” 

“We are in a fairly 

complicated… situation 

because we are a multi 

sports club which means 

we are just one section of a 

larger establishment. 

Positively, it’s a huge site 

which has astro hockey 

pitches and hosts a rugby 

club. We are all fighting to 

keep going and sometimes 

have issues over facilities, 

but generally things work 

well!” 

“I’m not a great fan… of 

‘Chance2shine’. I realise it 

reaches many youngsters 

and raises the profile of the 

game, but I’m not sure 

about the quality of 

cricketers it brings through. 

Of the many youth 

members we have, I can 

count on one hand the 

players who have come 

through the scheme. 

However, we’ve a very 

good relationship with the 

ECB and have received 

Clubmark status.” 

“Dimitri Mascarenhas 

has played for us… We’ve 

a fairly large ground but I 

can still recall him hitting 

the ball into the car park!” 

“In the future I would 

like… to see us maintain 

the high standards we have 

at the moment. Lots of 

people who have got us into 

our good position at the 

moment are getting a little 

tired and it’s certainly time 

for some new blood to take 

over and step forward. One 

challenge we have is 

bringing in some fresh 

energy. Being an out of 

town club means finding 

volunteers is getting ever 

harder.” 

Jill Coombs 

“I do lots of 

administration… in 

support of the club in my 

role as Colts Secretary. 

Over the years I’ve 

gradually got involved in 

support of Rob and my sons 

who are involved at the 

club. I spend lots of my time 

on the computer and 

chasing match fees! 

The Colts section has had 

I hate 

losing and 

cricket 

being my 

first love, 

once I 

enter the 

ground it’s 

a different 

zone 

altogether 

and that 

hunger for 

winning is 

always 

there. 

Sachin 

Tendulkar 

a very good summer. We’ve 

had more turn up on 

Tuesdays and many are 

starting to come along at a 

very young age. Added to 

that, a couple of girls came 

along recently. We will 

move into the indoor centre 

in September and the 

process starts all over 

again! Most of our 

volunteers are parents of 

the colts and we rely 

heavily on their great 

support.” 

13 Monmouth Road, Wareham, Dorset BH20 4QF 

Tel/Fax: 01929 550858 Mobile (07831 312740) 

Email: purbeckplumbing@yahoo.co.uk 

Steve Iles 

wishes Bournemouth CC 

all the best for the 2010 season 

GAS SAFE REG NO 31269 LICENCE NO 2329716 

st Just 

caPe ground 

Cape Cornwall Road, St Just, Penzance TR19 7JX 

(Club) T: 01736 787495 (Preferred number) T: 01736 788722 E: bulamrg@aol.com W: stjust.play-cricket.com 

All images courtesy of St Just 

Cornish side St Just’s 

Secretary is Chris 

Goninan. He spoke to 

Cricket Club Magazine over 

the summer about his time 

at the club, the changes he 

has witnessed during his 

long association and the 

recent addition of Solar 

panelling on their pavilion. 

Changes… 

“I started going along to 

the club to practice when I 

was eleven and this is my 

second spell as Secretary 

after I re-joined the club in 

1984.When I was youngster 

I saw Penzance as our 

area’s Lord’s, the whole 

atmosphere was fantastic 

and it was always full to the 

brim. 

In those days we were 

lacking in facilities but 

since 1986, when we had a 

new scoreboard put up, 

things have moved at a 

pace and every single year 

until now, something 

significant has happened 

on the ground! It reached a 

climax in 2004 when the 

new pavilion was opened. 

The ten year project cost 

just over £500,000, was 

funded by Sport England, 

and provides a fantastic 

facility for the club. 

Since then, we’ve had 

new practice nets put in via 

the Community Club 

Development Fund and 

the pitch has been fully 

re-seeded and re- planted. 

We’ve worked hard for it 

because you don’t get 

money like that for sitting 

on your backside.” 

Dedication… 

“St Just as a town only has 

a population of around 

2,500 and we are still able 

to put out four cricket 

teams every Saturday. We 

used to be one of the 

weaker sides that made 

up the Cornwall Cricket 

League as it once was and 

then in the mid 80’s, when 

promotion and relegation 

came in and the league 

became one complete 

county division we 

managed to scrape in. 

With the help of a certain 

West Indian by the name 

of Livingston Lawrence we 

then became Champions 

of the League in 1990 for 

the first time since 1926!” 

Administration… 

“I’ve always found that 

the administration 

required of clubs such as 

ours is far more than most 

people realise. We are 

amateurs at the lower end 

of the loop doing our best 

to keep cricket going in 

our areas. 

The grants we’ve 

received have been made 

possible by sheer hard 

work because we wouldn’t 

have got the money if we 

were not compliant and 

didn’t adhere to good 

practice as its set down 

from the authorities. It is 

however, I believe, getting 

harder and harder for us to 

find the people to do the 

paper work that is 

required.” 

More Positively… 

“The ECB have put Cricket 

Development Officers into 

each county to make the 

process a little easier. I 

believe the ‘Chance2shine’ 

scheme and ‘Kwik Cricket’ 

are two of the major things 

that have made the game 

far more sustainable in 

Schools. 

We’ve been involved with 

Chance2shine for four years 

and go into Primary and 

Secondary Schools in the 

area and I believe the 

scheme has raised the 

games profile remarkably 

since 2005.” 

Solar Panels… 

“We’ve Solar Panels on 

our Pavilion. They went up 

in 2008 with the help of the 

Low Carbon Building 

phase program which is a 

government initiative 

which gave us 50% of the 

funding. The other half of 

the £24,000 project was 

funded by the ECB’s Green 

grant and some funds from 

within the club. They’ve 

been a fantastic addition 

and we are already seeing 

financial benefits. We are 

also currently exploring 

the idea of water 

harvesting.” 

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Other sporting personalities, comedians and celebrities are available and many more. 

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48 49

Little Stoke | The Sid Jenkins Ground 

little stoke 

the sid Jenkins ground 

Uttoxeter Road, Little Stoke, Nr.Stone, Staffordshire ST15 8RA 

T: 01785-812558 E: /littlestoke.play-cricket.com 

Images courtesy of Little Stoke 

LSCC 1st XI Premier League Winners 2010 

North Staffordshire 

and South Cheshire 

Premier League winners 

Little Stoke have had a 

fantastic season throughout 

all ages and levels within 

the club. Cricket Club 

Magazine caught up with 

Stephen Colclough at the 

club this month to find out 

more. 

What is the general 

mood around Little 

Stoke now that the 

club has had such a 

successful and historic 

year? 

“The mood is one of great 

satisfaction that the Club has 

managed to win the North 

Staffordshire and South 

Cheshire Premier League 

title with one of the youngest 

sides in the division, and the 

youngest senior side ever 

assembled by the Club. 

It’s been achieved through 

the successful integration 

of a signifi cant number of 

the Club’s junior players into 

the Club’s Premier winning 

side. This is an endorsement 

of the youth policy that the 

Club put in place a number of 

years ago, and is testament 

to the quality of the junior 

coaching provided at the 

Club by experienced qualifi ed 

ECB coaches, and provides 

an incentive to future junior 

players that through hard 

work and dedication that 

their goals can be achieved. 

With such a young side, and 

with the quality of youngsters 

coming through the Club’s 

junior ranks, it is hoped 

that this level of success 

can be maintained for a 

G.Richardson Transport Ltd 

01785 822262 

We are very proud to sponsor 

Little Stoke Cricket Club 

number of years to come.” 

Behind every 

successful club 

is a successful 

infrastructure, Little 

Stoke clearly has a 

model that works, can 

you tell me a little more 

about your set up? 

“The club has a management 

committee that consists of 

a chairman, secretary and 

president. There are also 

other members who have 

specifi c areas of responsibility 

(Senior cricket, junior cricket, 

fi nance, ground, fund raising, 

front of house) all these are 

elected at the AGM and are 

often either the chairperson 

of or sit on a sub-committee 

for their particular area of 

business within the club. 

From a junior perspective 

the Club has a Junior 

Development Sub Committee 

in place which oversees 

the running of the Club’s 

youth set up from Under 

9’s up to Under 17’s. This 

committee comprises of 

team managers, coaches 

and members of the Club’s 

Management Committee. The 

Club’s coaching structure 

sees a mixture of external 

ECB level 2 and 3 coaches 

who are paid by the Club. 

These tend to be more 

experienced coaches who 

also undertake coaching roles 

at Staffordshire County level 

at varying junior age groups. 

These coaches are then 

supplemented through 

home grown Club coaches 

who are ECB level 1 and 

2 qualifi ed. Having two 

grounds on one site, plus 

a thriving Crown Green 

Bowls Club makes the Club 

‘busy’ but also increases the 

workload on upkeep of the 

infrastructure. Helpfully, we’ve 

received some excellent 

sponsorship support.” 

How heavily is the 

club involved with the 

local community? 

“The Club is hoping to be 

more involved with local 

schools in the future whereby 

the Club hosts a number 

of school matches at its 

ground. This will provide 

better facilities for the school 

children to play on, and will 

hopefully encourage children 

at local catchment area 

schools to join Little Stoke. 

A further community 

development has seen the 

Club in partnership with 

Stafford College, whereby 

the College, through 

students on its woodwork 

courses, provide the Club 

with a number of benches 

for use by its spectators, as 

well as a mobile wooden 

score box for use on the 

Atticus solicitors 

Very proud to be sponsors of Little Stoke 

Telephone: 01782 629840 

Mobile: 07920 290558 

a.bennett@atticussolicitors.co.uk 

79 a High Street, Newcastle, Staffordshire ST5 1PS 


LSCC U’17’s League and Cup Winners 2010 

Club’s upper ground. 

In return the Club promotes 

the Colleges open days and 

courses on offer through 

advertising through the 

Club handbook, website 

and ground advertising. It 

is hoped that this scheme 

can be extended further 

and will involve the Colleges 

metalwork students making 

site screens and covers.” 

Is there anything 

that you would like to 

change at the club? 

“A further aim would be to 

try and attract more grants 

funding for the Club to 

enhance the already excellent 

facilities the Club has in 

place. These would primarily 

be centred round new net 

practice facilities as well 

as a renewal of the Club’s 

plant and machinery stock.” 

Where does the 

club see itself in the 

next 5 years? 

“Hopefully this season is only 

the start of a journey that 

will see the Club continue 

to achieve success at a 

senior playing level with a 

team that has as its core a 

signifi cant number of home 

grown junior talent within it. 

It is hoped that this 

continued success at 

both senior and junior 

level will see an increase 

in the number of players 

recruited to the Club which 

will eventually see four 

Saturday sides playing in 

the North Staffordshire and 

South Cheshire League. 

It is also hoped that 

through successful 

grant funding the Club’s 

facilities will be enhanced 

still further not only for 

its current membership, 

but also for the extensive 

number of Staffordshire 

cricket representative 

sides that play fi xtures at 

Little Stoke which in 2010 

ranged from Under 11’s 

to Over 50’s matches.” 

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Little Stoke | The Sid Jenkins Ground 

50 51 

4 Market Square, 

Stafford, 

ST16 2JH 

01785223212 

www.srbs.co.uk 


LSCC U’15’s League and Cup Winners 2010 


LSCC First XI with trophy and fl ag 2010 


Dan Colclough bowling 2010 


Gaz Morris with League Trophy 

Grundfos Pumps are proud sponsors of 

Little Stoke Cricket Club and congratulations on 

their successfull championship winning season 

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Middleton | Towncroft 

middleton 

towncroft 

Towncroft, Hollin Lane, Middleton, Greater Manchester M24 5DA 

T: 0161-643-3595 W: www.middletoncc.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Middleton 


Members of the 

Central Lancashire 

Cricket League 

It is thought cricket first 

appeared in the Greater 

Manchester town of 

Middleton in 1857. The 

Middleton Albion reported a 

match was played at the 

clubs Hollin Lane home 

between Middleton and 

Chadwick’s (a local silk 

manufacturing company) 

employees. Middleton 

scored 66 and the employees 

27. The game was then 

followed by a sumptuous 

feast at the Old Boar’s Head. 

Middleton’s current 

Committee Chairman is 

Gordan Howarth. He’s also 

played and coached at the 

club meaning he was well 

Camellia Kitchen 

Studios design and 

install kitchens, 

bedrooms and 

bathrooms to suit 

our customers 

individual needs. 

placed to talk to Cricket Club 

Magazine during the season 

about the modern day 

establishment. 

We’ve had a few 

problems… with overseas 

players recently but we’ve 

also experienced some 

decent success of late with a 

young side. Every Thursday 

we get 40-60 Kids and we 

have under 11’s, 13’s, and 

under 15’s represented at the 

club. We’ve eight coaches 

involved and have recently 

got two of the younger guys 

who came through our 

system involved as level 1 

coaches. It has to be the way 

forward.” 

“We’ve two artificial nets… 

and Roy Turner coaches the 

Lancashire disabled group 

every Saturday morning. We 

have a good relationship 

with the ECB and we are a 

Tel/Fax: 0161 620 4461 

enquiries@camelliakitchens.co.uk 

www.camelliakitchens.co.uk 

As a Miele specialist we are focused on providing 

high quality kitchens and appliances and a high 

level of service to all our customers. 

Images courtesy of Middleton Website 

Middleton Cricket Club 


Match beginning 

Focus Club. We have done 

everything they’ve asked. 

The kids who play here want 

to be involved and I’m not 

sure where the happy 

medium is regarding cricket 

work in schools.” 

“In the next five years… 

we will be keen to continue 

developing our own talent. 

We’ve already proven we 

can do it but we will have to 

continue pushing things 

forward. I get a good kick out 

of younger lads coming 

through.” 

L 

S 

Landbridge Shipping Ltd 

moving the world, fast. 


Scoreboard 


Ground 

Lancashire’s 2nd’s used 

to play at Middleton’s 

Towncroft ground on 

Hollin Lane which is widely 

regarded as an excellent 

batting strip. The club 

currently benefi t from a 

full time groundsman 

T: 0151 546 0400 F: 0151 549 0098 

We are very proud sponsors of 

Middleton Cricket Club 

Landbridge Shipping, Lees Road, 

Knowsley Industrial Park, Liverpool LS3 7SE 

info@landbridge.co.uk www.landbridge.co.uk 

darwen 

birch hall cricket ground 

Birch Hall Cricket Ground, Leven Grove, DARWEN, Lancashire 

T: 01254 701 795 W: www.darwencricket.com 

Images courtesy of Darwen 

Cup Winners Team 2010 

The market town of 

Darwen in 

Lancashire is home to 

Darwen cricket club. 

Based at two locations, 

Birch Hall and Lower 

Darwen the club’s first 

team competes in the 

Northern League Division 

One and finished in a 

respectable 4th position 

this season. 

Graham Ainslie is their 

Chairman. Involved for 37 

years, he’s had various 

roles at the club including 

being a Junior Member 

and First Eleven Captain. 

He’s also held various roles 

on the committee making 

him well placed to speak to 


month. The club will 

celebrate its centenary 

year in 2011. 

“Much of our success 

over many years… has 

been down to junior 

development. We’ve won 

championships in all of the 

last three decades and 

those have been with home 

grown players. In our 

current set up, seven out of 

our current first team are 

under the age of 21. We’ve 

a very productive youth 

section and good 

relationships with the local 

primary and secondary 

schools.” 

“Next year is our 

centenary year… and we 

are currently finalising 

some event plans. We’ve a 

large one organised for 

next July and we hope to 

invite many former 

players. Also, starting 

from January 2011 we want 

to have an activity or 

function each month of the 

year. We’ve lots to look 

forward to and it’s a 

chance to publicise the 

good work that the club 

does for the local 

community.” 

“We would always 

welcome more 

volunteers… and it’s 

something we have been 

pushing. With our 

Clubmark status and other 

activities we get involved 

in it means we have to run 

the club more like a 

business. We are most 

likely like many clubs in 

the Lancashire area in that 

we would welcome more 

volunteers to carry out the 

roles and responsibilities 

we need to cover.” 

“We’d be keen for some 

more outdoor nets… and 

we’ve plans to replace an 

artificial wicket for next 

season. We are ok with 

everything else and we’ve 

a really nice clubhouse 

which is used for functions 

on regular occasions. 

We’ve also put new 

seating around the outside 

of the ground which looks 

fantastic.” 


Zimmy 


Atif Ashraf 


Darwen Tower 

“A big challenge for 

clubs… in our local area 

over the next five years 

will be for them to strive 

forward in their own right. 

Certain funding currently 

available with the ECB may 

dry up to some extent 

meaning it could be hard 

for clubs to develop as 

much as they’ve been able 

to over the last ten years. 

For the league to sustain 

its present number of clubs 

will also be a challenge. If 

clubs can sustain present 

numbers however then I 

think all will be well. The 

Darwen | Birch Hall Cricket Ground 


Team with Cordingley 


Barmy Army 


Medals 


Khan returns 

continued development of 

our younger players here 

at Darwen is crucial.” 

Paul Browne Aerials 

Proud to sponsor 

Darwen CC for over 30 years 

01254 701296 

100 Greenway Street, Darwen, 

Lancashire BB3 1EQ 

52 53

Colchester | Castle Park Cricket Ground 

colchester 

castle Park cricket ground 

Sportsway, Catchpole Road, Colchester, Essex 

T: 01206 574 028 W: www.colchestercricket.org 

Colchester and East 

Essex Cricket Club 

can lay claim to being the 

premier club in North East 

Essex. Not only are they the 

only club to be playing 

premier league level 

cricket, they also boast one 

of the finest grounds in the 

county. 

Since Castle Park was 

opened in 1908, many of 

world cricket’s greats have 

graced the ground which 

still hosts Essex County 

Cricket Club every year 

during Colchester Festival 

Week. 

It is its unique setting that 

is nearly impossible to 

surpass, lying along the 

Roman Wall and the River 

Colne the ground is 

surrounded by trees within 

which lies the elegant 

pavilion. This recreation of 

a forgotten Victorian idyll 

that speaks to the very 

heart of traditional English 

county cricket is also the 

scene of several legendary 

innings including a quite 

remarkable feat by Arthur 

Fagg in 1938. 

During a match between 

Essex and Kent, for whom 

he played, he scored 224 

not out and 202 not out and 

remains to this day the only 

man to score two double 

centuries in a match. In 

1981 Javed Miandad, a 

Pakistan and world great, 

scored a swift 200 not out 

when Glamorgan were set 

325 in five and a half hours. 

His aggressively paced 

innings brought the game 

to an exciting climax that 

came to an end 14 runs 

short of the required total 

when he ran out of partners. 

Not that Castle Park is 

without its downside, the 

River Colne, as beautiful as 

it is, has caused many 

drainage problems. An 

example was in 1958 when 

a festival match had to be 

abandoned as deckchairs 

floated across the outfield. 

Further disruption came in 

a 1966 when, mid match, 

the two teams moved to the 

secondary ground at 

Garrison Cricket Ground. 

Such were the problems 

that this arrangement 

lasted until 1975. 

Currently the club is able 

to put out five senior teams 

with the first and seconds 

playing in the Shepherd 

and Neame Essex League 

and three further teams that 

compete in the PDQ Cars 

North East Essex Cricket 

Leagues. There is also a 

Women’s XI, age group 

teams from Under 11’s 

through to Under 16’s and a 

kwik cricket team. 

Colchester and East Essex 

Cricket Club has indeed 

got a bright future to match 

its rich past. 

Philip George is their 

President. Involved as a 

player since 1980, he has 

three sons who play for the 

club also does lots of 

umpiring. He spoke to 

Cricket Club Magazine this 

month. 

“We had a nice 

publication… put together 

which celebrated the 100 

years of cricket at the club 

and a club ball at the end of 

the season. Our sides have 

had a decent season 

without being exceptional.” 

“Off the field…. we are 

heavily involved with the 

‘Chance2shine’ scheme and 

have coaches who go into 

local primary schools who 

bring the game to those 

who otherwise may not get 

involved. Some have been 

so keen that they have 

come along and now form 

part of our Colts Section.” 

“We are lucky with the 

quality… of the coaches 

we have and the amount of 

time they are prepared to 

put in. We’ve also an 

exceptional Secretary in 

the form of Keith Oxborrow 

who deals with lots of our 

administration.” 

“In order to stay at the 

top level… it’s becoming 

more financially difficult 

especially due to 

sponsorship issues in the 

current financial climate. 

Much is expected of us as 

a Premier League cricket 

set up. In the future we are 

keen to build on the 

facilities and resources 

we have and hope to enlist 

the ECB for assistance.” 

Neil Foster and Derek 

Pringle both played for 

Colchester as did David 

Collier who is now the 

CEO of the ECB. 

LJR Edwards 

Sportsturf Management 

Contract Cricket Ground Maintenance 

Specialist Turf Renovation Service 

Out-eld Cutting Contracts 

Verti Drain Aeration 

Specialist Square Reconstruction 

Specialist Advice on all Turf Maintenance Situations 

Olivia Mulberry Green, Copford, Colchester, Essex CO6 1DL 

Telephone/Fax: 01206 211321 Mobile: 07944 313763 

www.sportsturfmanagement.co.uk 

Colchester | Castle Park Cricket Ground 

Cricket Club ADVERTORIAL 

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Visit us online at www.cantsroses.co.uk for a show-case of roses grown at our nursery. 

We can also supply by mail order or come and visit us at 

Cants of Colchester, Nayland Road, Mile End, Colchester, Essex CO4 5HA 

Sponsors of Colchester Cricket Club 

54 55

Chesham | The Meadow 

chesham 

the meadow 

Amy Lane, Chesham, HP5 1NE 

W: www.cheshamcc.co.uk 

Images courtesy of Steve Ayres, 

www.fi rstfortrophies.co.uk, 01494 776066 / 07966 534662 

Cymru Alliance Champions 

Since 1880 Meadow 

Lane in 

Buckinghamshire has been 

the home of Chesham 

Cricket Club, a club with a 

long tradition of welcoming 

hospitality, local legends 

and a proud tradition of 

consistently putting out a 

diverse range of cricket 

teams on a week to week 

basis. 

Chesham’s early history is 

vague due to a rumour that 

the wife of an ex-secretary, 

Billy Holliman, burned 

many records and 

scorebooks from the clubs 

founding years. An 

assumption could be that 

she was fed up of her 

husband spending more 

time in the Pavilion than at 

home and decided to take 

revenge! 

Their first local legend 

was playing for the club in 

these early days and Squire 

William Lowndes still 

remains a major part of 

folklore to this day. The 

Squire was not only Captain 

but also president of the 

club. With The Squire also 

representing Surrey 

County Cricket Club at the 

time he used his privileged 

position to entice one of the 

greatest players in the 

history of cricket, W.G. 

Grace, to bring an 

invitational team to 

Chesham for four years 

between 1905 and 1908. 

It was a long and turbulent 

time before Chesham really 

made any head way into 

becoming a dominant 

cricketing force but the 

years between 1950 and the 

early 1970’s are what are 

regarded as Chesham’s 

Golden Era. 

During this time the club 

produced countless 

amounts of club legends 

and county players. Names 

such as Fred Harris, John 

Mills, the Taylor Twins, the 

Kemp Brothers, Colin Lever 

and Don Reynolds will still 

reverberate around the 

Pavilion today, a Pavilion 

that was opened in 1963 by 

the great Fred Trueman. 

During this Golden Era 

however, nothing was done 

to ensure that when these 

players retired that there 

was a youthful new 

generation to take the club 

onwards and upwards. As 

a result Chesham slowly 

slid down the leagues and 

to resolve this, their youth 

section was formed in the 

early 1980’s. A testament to 

the success of this youth 

section is that fact that many 

of these young starlets still 

play for the club’s 

numerous sides today. The 

youth section is still 

thriving as the club runs 12 

junior teams. 

Today the club boast vast 

playing staffs that enable 

them to produce four 

playing teams on a 

Saturday in the Thames 

leagues and two Sunday 

sides. The diversity in the 

club comes from the fact 

that in addition to the six 

men’s teams there is also a 

women’s team and an all 

Asian team as the Rising 

Stars play in the South East 

Sunday League. 


caught up with Steve Ayres 

last month. In his second 

stint as Club Secretary, he 

was well placed to fill us in 

about the modern day 

establishment. 

“The Chairman and I… 

re-started our junior 

section about 11 years ago 

and I delivered the first 

training session to a group 

of 3 boys. Anyway, they all 

came back (with a friend) 

and now we have over 200 

boys and girls under the 

age of 17. The most 

satisfying part of all this is 

the composition of our 

senior first XI. A typical 

side consists of the captain 

at 40+, the overseas player 

at 30+ and the next oldest 

is 19. We have had 3 

messages from the league 

this year passing on 

compliments from umpires 

saying how impressed they 

were with this young side, 

not only in how they played 

but also the manner of their 

performance. We field 2 

teams in local competitions 

at every age group 

between the ages of 10-15 

and have an 80 player 

strong mini section (9 and 

under). For the past 5 

years we have had a 

full-time Director of 

Cricket such is the 

importance to the club of 

our juniors.” 

“We turn nobody away… 

Some local clubs have 

started trialling and 

capping membership but 

our attitude has always 

been to try and provide for 

anyone who wants to play. 

If more people join we 

enter more teams and use 

more coaches. We started 

a girls section a few years 

ago and now we have a 

senior women’s section so 

those girls have a pathway 

to carry on playing. We 

have been a Chance2shine 

club for 5 years and have 

links with all the local 

schools. The only part of 

the community we have 

struggled to engage are 

those with disabilities. We 

have a very difficult 

pavilion to access and it 

makes encouraging this 

group to the club very 

difficult. This is something 

we are focusing on 

Positively, we won a long 

legal battle with the local 

council 2 years ago over 

planning permission for a 

new pavilion - something 

we are desperate to 

improve. The timing of 

this long battle, ultimately 

won on most counts and 

quite a watershed for 

cricket clubs who have 

pavilions on green belt 

land, was that when we 

started the process we 

had various funding 

partners lined up but the 

financial changes over the 

past 5 years have meant 

many of these have dried 

up. We are now in a 

position of possibly having 

to re-apply and start the 

whole process again.” 

“The pathway through… 

club and county here is not 

as straightforward as it 

perhaps is for a lad from a 

Middlesex or Surrey club. I 

say this as a former Cricket 

Development Manager 

who worked hard to try 

and establish better links 

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Chesham | The Meadow 

with first class counties but 

this still has some distance 

to travel.” 

“The quality of young 

players… we are 

producing need to play at a 

Premier League level, so 

promotions are vital. 

Inevitably we will lose 

players if we cannot offer 

them that level. We also 

want to continue to provide 

opportunities for as many 

young players as we 

possibly can to fall in love 

with the game.” 

Sponsors of Chesham Cricket Club 

01494 786 176 

www.chesham-insurance.co.uk 

Chesham Oce, 127 Broad Street, Chesham, Bucks HP5 3EF 

56 57

Falkland | Enborne Street 

falkland 

enborne street 

Falkland Cricket Club, Enborne Street, Wash Common, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 6TW 

T: 01635 47658 W: www.pitchero.com/clubs/falkland 

Go on, admit it. If I 

asked you for your 

first image of ‘Falkland 

Cricket Club’, it would most 

probably be of hardy 

farmers braving a South 

Atlantic wind so ferocious, 

that the wicket keeper 

would be standing at 4th 

slip, and the fast bowler 

would have to complete his 

run up on a motor bike, 

wouldn’t it? The truth is that 

the Falkland C.C of your 

image, is as far removed 

from the Falkland Cricket 

Club of reality, as far as, 

well, 20/20 is from Test 

cricket. 

The club is actually 

situated near Newbury, and 

not at Mid On to Argentina. 

Although it is worth noting, 

that the club did actually 

compete against their 

colder counterparts in 

March 2009, on the 

Falkland Islands. They 

successfully kept their feet, 

to record a victory and 

retain the Stanley Services 

Cup. Not many victorious 

teams are awarded tea in 

the Governor’s Mansion 

after a cricket match either! 

The name Falkland in this 

context though, is 

reasonably confidently 

attached to a Lord Falkland 

who fell in the Battle of 

Newbury in 1643, 

(apparently Geoff Boycott 

was just approaching his 

first half century, 250 miles 

north). The club took his 

name in 1895, superseding 

the original ‘Wash Common 

C.C’ of 1884. 

As with many ‘village’ 

clubs, Falkland C.C is a 

true community club. As 

well as the 4 ‘X1’s, it also 

boasts a burgeoning youth 

set up, the club is also a 

social hub for the 

surrounding area. Much of 

this success can be 

attributed to the Neate 

family who began their 

long association with the 

club in 1938. 

The family still hold a 

nominal stake in the club, 

in one of the club’s two 

venues. Another 

notification of the progress 

of the club came in 2007, 

when they were awarded 

the coveted, Sport England, 

Full Clubmark 

Accreditation. 

This season Falkland 

has just won the HCPL 

Division 2 West for the 

second time and, in 

doing so return to the 

top fl ight of club cricket. 

On what was a fi ne day 

they defeated Slough 

to overtake Reading 

and celebrations were 

enhanced with the news 

that the 2nd XI had 

defeated Tring to maintain 

their Level 2B status. 

There was 

a slight 

interruption 

there for 

athletics. 

-Richie Benaud, 

referring to 

a streaker at 

Lord’s, BBC TV 


Groundsman and ECB 

pitch advisor, Wilson 

Carlisle started FTS 

Sportsturf Serivces Ltd ten 

years ago. He spoke to 


about a positive link with 

Falkland. 

“I’ve been involved with 

Falkland CC personally for 

thirty eight years and I still 

play for the 4th team on a 

Saturday. Our involvement 

has meant we’ve helped 

the club grow from being a 

village club on the edge of 

town to being one of the 

major clubs in the area 

which also now stages 

Minor Counties 

Championship games. 

Continued improvement 

programs have seen the 

facility extended and the 

purchase of a second 

ground. There are also 

Falkland | Enborne Street 

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Winston Carlisle - Sportsturf 

further plans for installing 

new nets and upgrading the 

square on the main ground. 

All of these moves have, 

helped, and will continue 

to help, the club to be a 

truly Premier League set 

up. As a company, FTS are 

keen to continue our 

positive association and 

help them with further 

ground improvements. Into 

the future, we’d also be 

keen to level the outfield. 

Both the square and the 

outfield have evolved 

naturally from what was an 

agricultural field in the 

1920’s, it’s not a ground that 

was built from scratch but 

has been developed 

gradually. We want to 

continue that process and 

make it an even better 

facility.” 

58 59 

FTS 

Sportsturf Services Limited 

your sport is our passion 

Sportsground & Amenity Contractors 

Drainage, Construction 

Renovation & Mainetenance 

Cricket, Bowls, Golf, Football, Rugby 

Contacts: 

Wilson Carlisle 07768 696291 

Erik Kinlon 07974 210447 

web: www.fts-sportsturf.co.uk email: info@fts-sportsturf.co.uk 

Unit 39, Centreprise House, New Greenham Park, Newbury, Berkshire RG19 6HW

Pirelli - supporting Burton Albion Football Club 

and wishing them every success for the future. 

pirelli.co.uk

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