wilmslow
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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.