Chester Boughton Hall
Junior focus
While the 1st XI’s the playing pinnacle at the Club,
Chester Boughton Hall pride themselves on providing
cricket for all across the year. A vibrant junior section
boasts nine teams with Monday and Friday night practice
sessions always well attended. Junior progression is a
significant part of the Club’s ongoing development.
Woman’s cricket
Similarly, women’s cricket at Chester Boughton Hall
goes from strength to strength with two senior sides.
Working under the close eye of Jo Herbertson, training
for girls aged five upwards has also been recently
introduced.
Major ground development
The ground continually evolves under the close
management of groundsman Alex Kegg – a wily,
medium pace bowler still plying his trade for the 1st XI
(after several retirements).
The Club consider themselves extremely lucky to
have been able to complete a three-year operation to
fully enclose the main pitch with a white picket fence.
This provides a stunning vista alongside the huge
external white umbrellas erected in 2018. The ground
has never looked better and following on from last year’s
prestigious Last Man Stands World Cup tournament,
there’s more big fixtures this year.
Bringing cricket to the community
It’s likely there’ll be cricket of one form or another
played at Filkins Lane practically every day between
May and September. In addition to the Club sides and
representative teams, several local midweek league
sides use the pitches which include two synthetic strips.
This is an important revenue stream as well as giving the
opportunity for others to enjoy cricket at Boughton Hall.
There have even been several ‘French cricket’ days over
the last few months, introducing French students from
Chester University to the noble game.
“We were approached by Chris Fleet, the club captain
to do the catering six years ago and our son Thomas
Dougherty used to play for the club. We are there
supporting the team every week and would just like to
encourage them to keep up the hard work and if you
do you will do well - good luck for the season!”
Phil and Sarah Dougherty
Lancashire Thunder set for 2019
As well as hosting a Cheshire three-day minor counties
championship game with Wiltshire and potentially a
one day KO semi-final, Lancashire 2nd XI are playing
a one-day and three day game in June against Durham.
The icing on the cake is being awarded a prestigious Kia
Super League game on 18 August, hosting Lancashire
Thunder against Western Storm.
The Club has been working with Lancashire
throughout the winter and are planning a special family
day for what promises to be a great occasion.
The Revenue Challenge
Obviously creating revenue is vital to keep the club
afloat and maintain the facilities. And like all clubs,
Chester are reliant on the goodwill and generosity of a
small group of ‘hands-on’ people.
Club Captain Chris Fleet – a generous benefactor
and veteran skipper -oversees much of the development
while the likes of Chairman Brian Gresty, Secretary
John Legry, Women’s Development Manager Di Totty
and Marketing/Comms Manager Jim Law provide
invaluable support.
“Running a cricket club is harder than ever,”
commented Fleet. “Clubs can’t rely on just membership
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