Ampthill Town
Saracens Hertfordshire League Division One. Whilst results
in the other adult sides are not going our way at this time we
continue to put plenty of sides out on a Saturday and Sunday and
give plenty of people good quality cricket in lovely surroundings
at both our grounds.
We aim to get our Saturday first XI promoted and targeting
all other sides to maintain their current league status. We are also
looking at improvements to our pavilion at our main ground
and currently drawing up plans for various options. This is
something we hope we can do within the next 3 years.”
Community
“We are a community club based in Ampthill Great Park and
we get a lot of support on match days. Our ground is used for
the annual Festival day in July and many school tournaments
use our facilities during term time for competitions. We are
also lucky enough to have hosted Bedfordshire in minor county
games over the last few years and expand that to Over 50’s and
Over 60’s County games.”
Commercial
“We have many sponsors (but always looking for more) who
support the club but we also organise many functions for both
members and the local community. For the last 20 years we have
held a Celebrity Sportsman Dinner in May of each year where
a guest speaker and comedian will entertain anywhere up to
200 people. This year we had the pleasure of Scott Quinell and
Johnny Stiles.
We have also played Lashings All-Stars XI twice, only being
defeated by 4 runs in August last year. Our major fund raising
event this year is our end of season ball which will be held in a
marquee on the outfield in October, so far we have had bookings
for 240 people of the 250 places available.
For the first time this season we have arranged T20 games on
a Friday night against local businesses. This is aimed at exposing
our club to more local businesses/people and generating income
via the bar and a BBQ. As this is a fun night it allows some
members who don’t normally get to play on the main ground a
chance to enjoy the facilities and surroundings.”
Challenges
“We currently run four sides on both Saturday and Sunday
but along with other clubs locally games are now being conceded
a lot more than recently. A lot of our members play either
Saturday or Sunday where as in years gone past people would
play both days. As the numbers that do this dwindle it may be a
challenge to maintain the number of sides we currently run.
The length of games can also be a factor when you add in
traveling time. Saturday league games for our 1st and 2nd XI
teams are 100 over matches and we can travel up to an hour to
each away game. Add this altogether it can mean the whole day
is gone, I think this may need looking at as members may decide
not to play certain games.”
Ambitions
“As a club we aim to keep progressing both on and off the
field. We hope our teams will gain promotions to ensure we play
a high standard of cricket ensuring that each side plays as close
together as possible. We aim to ensure that our youth section
continues to thrive as much as it does today. We hope to improve
our pavilion at our main ground in Ampthill Park whilst also
improving the facilities at our second ground in Marston.”
www.sportip.biz
17