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wilmslow FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/CRICKETCLUBMAG Wilmslow CRICKET CLUB Wilmslow CC is a fine example of a club that is at the heart of the local community. Cricket Club Magazine recently caught up with their Chairman Mike Harding to find out more about how they have been getting along lately. Involvement He told us, “I played my first game around 1978, came home from University, met an old school mate who asked if I fancied a game, previously I had played for the other club in the area. I rejoined in 1985 having been abroad and have stayed ever since. It is a friendly club that was going through a bad patch at the time with plenty of characters and stories. Getting teams out and competing week in week out is the most challenging part of my role. We have a number of clubs in the area who have sadly folded. We are all volunteers, and it’s great to see the whole club, that is players, the ground and the facilities develop due to the hard work put in.” Present “We have found a level we are currently happy with, we have some new players and are pretty positive about consolidating that position. There is ambition to move on, in the next few years. We share a ground with the local leisure centre, so we don’t have a pavilion or focal point during the close season. We have an Annual Awards Evening, two Golf Days, Curry and Quiz nights, to keep the club and its friends/past players etc. together and we start indoor nets in January. 2018/19 was a good close season for us. For the 1st XI the aim this year is to consolidate their position in Division 2 and for the 2nd XI the same in Division B East of the UK FAST Cheshire Cricket League. We 58 Issue 50 have been raising money to overhaul the square as soon as the season finishes in mid-September. We need to get our youth cricket back on track.” game, there is no pressure to win, although it’s nice. A draw can be a good result in this type of game although I seem to be a lone voice on that one! Youth Community “Last Saturday seven of the 1st XI now in their mid-twenties, have been with the club since they were eleven years old or less. We have just started with the ECB All Stars initiative, the whole process again of developing youth cricket. Hopefully, from within this group we can find the Dads and Mums who will coach and manage a new generation of 1st XI cricketers. We have a ‘developmental’ 3rd XI on a Sunday, it’s a mixture of older players and youngsters to help with the transition into senior cricket. We always ensure the youngsters get a “We are definitely a community club, although we are a bit different. We are in the heart of the town, and very ‘public’ as we share facilities with the leisure centre. We do find it hard to compete with two particular neighbours up the road who have their own private facilities and club houses.” Challenges “The introduction of a pyramid league structure has incurred some casualties. A number of clubs in the area have as a result folded.