Cricket Club Issue 42 | Page 32

Pedmore FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/CRICKETCLUBMAG Pedmore CRICKET CLUB W hen I moved to a new teaching post in Stourbridge in September 1970 one of my new colleagues asked me whether I played cricket. I turned out for the final game that season and, with two breaks for family reasons, have been with Pedmore Cricket Club in various capacities ever since. Other Committee members joined either as players or to support their sons’ progress through Junior and into Senior Cricket. We are delighted that the input of two of the latter, our hardestworking members, was recognised with awards from the Midlands Club Cricket Conference at the recent dinner. An obvious attraction is our picturesque little ground which has been steadily improved by devoted groundsmen, especially in the last 10 years. Our efforts were boosted at the 2014 Cricket Force weekend by Mike Gatting, the ECB and NatWest. The turn-out of Club members of all ages, their families, friends and local groups was amazing! Running a club gets more difficult – rules and regulations, the dearth of 32 Issue 42 younger people to take over from older, largely retired ones, not to mention the question of money. We have ambitious plans to extend the Clubhouse, revamp the changingrooms, kitchen and bar area, and improve access for the disabled, but this will be possible only if we are successful in applications for substantial grants. We just missed out last time round. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the result next time will be different and that we will be able to match any funding requirements. Such improvements would, we hope, encourage more local groups to join the local Men’s Club and WI groups in using the Clubhouse for some of their meetings. It is already available and used for parties for members and non-members. We are always optimistic about the coming season, even if at this stage we find ourselves down on playing numbers. With 3 Senior sides on Saturdays and one on Sundays we need a sizeable nucleus of players Pedmore Club Info - www.pedmorecc.co.uk - Twitter : @PedmoreCC - Found 1887