Newport
Newport
CRICKET CLUB
Newport CC is a fine example of the important role that a club can play in
their local community. Cricket Club Magazine recently caught up with Club
Representative Mike Knight to find out more about how they have been
getting along lately.
He told us, “I’ve been with the club
for the best part of fifty years and am
now the Chairman. My twin brother
Dave is also at the club and when we
joined at a young age we were very
well looked after. When we stopped
playing we wanted to give something
back as the future of the club is very
important to us.
“The mood is buoyant at the
moment. We recently hosted a
Glamorgan
vs
Gloucestershire
County Championship match and it
went superbly well from our point of
view; the wicket was very good and
the ground was superb. There were
good crowds and we got very good
feedback so hopefully we’ll be able to
host a few more matches in the future.
“Our first team won the South
Wales Premier League last year and
were hoping to retain the title but
haven’t made the best of starts so
are playing catch up a bit. We have a
good side so hopefully we can finish
strongly.
“We’ve got a very strong junior
section and work hard in that area.
We’re fortunate to have the children
of three ex-Glamorgan players in
our youth system so we have a good
crop of youngsters here who are
developing well. The success we’ve
had is attracting more young players
and there is a clear pathway for
them to progress through into senior
cricket. One of our four senior teams
is a development team supported by
some experienced players who pass
on their knowledge.
“The biggest challenge for us is the
decline of cricket in the area. It used
to be very strong but lots of clubs are
28 Issue 50
finding it difficult so whilst we try to
maintain our standards the overall
level of competition has probably
dropped slightly. There is very little
cricket being played at schools now
so we have to be very proactive to try
and get people to try out the game.
We’ll continue to work hard to attract
the next generation of cricketers so
that they can hopefully have the same
enjoyment from the game as I’ve had.
“Over the next five years I hope to
maintain our standards as one of, if
not the elite club in the area. We have
a fantastic ground and hope to become
a regular venue for Glamorgan. We
have just taken on a disused squash
building and we hope to convert that
into an indoor cricket school which
would be great for the kids in the area.
We hope to work with businesses
in the local area to bring that plan
to fruition so if anyone is interested
in helping that project please get in
touch.
“We also want to continue to
perform well at first team level
and to continue to develop young
players through the youth section.
We have quality cricketers coming
through and we need to keep that
going to safeguard the future of the
club and provide cricket for the next
generation.”