|
ABOUT US
After many years of playing Sunday friendly cricket,
Northleach Town CC took the decision to enter the
Cotswold District Cricket Association Saturday League in
2001, and to establish a second side – aimed at
maintaining the more sociable element of the club. With
a mix of youth and experience, and some new blood being
introduced along the way, the club has grown into a
major cricket force within the local area, culminating
in a top 3 finish in Division 1 in 2005 after gaining
promotion to the top flight the year before. The growth
of the club will be even more evident in 2006, as we
launch a 2nd XI into the challenges of
Division 3 league cricket.
The League experience has been one of great learning,
from winning the Division 3 title in the first year of
entry, to the inconsistencies of Division 2 cricket, and
then to promotion and finishing 3rd in
Division 1. The success of the side has always been
built upon teamwork and all-round improvement in
performance, plus the ability of individuals to produce
outstanding results. The arrival of new blood into the
town has only helped to further our cause, with at least
one new player being recruited each year. The energy and
enthusiasm of the team has been noted by many of the
opposition sides, before during and after the match, and
bears great testament to the atmosphere we are building.
This is evident in the fact that no less than 6 players
won the Man of the Match award through the campaign in
2005.
The Sunday “A” side has proved to be very fruitful in
terms of the development of younger and newer players,
with mixed results against sometimes much stronger
opposition. We feel that the creation of this team in
2001 was a major step forward for the whole club and its
members, with many young and “mature” players getting
the opportunity to play cricket in a non-League
environment. We defined the Sunday side to be an
opportunity for all players to partake in the bowling
and batting elements of the game, and this has been
largely achieved. Indeed, there have been occasions when
the side has had the chance to bat twice!
Capable of putting out two teams every weekend we have
been very successful in capturing the interest and
imagination of many youngsters within the town. Weekly
KwikCricket sessions with the local Primary School has
provided the impetus for many young players. This has
led to regular Friday evening sessions for boys and
girls aged between 6 and 11. In 2005 we also launched
our first Youth side, based on a group of 13 – 16 year
old players, with some outstanding prospects among them.
Their first season proved highly successful, with
several matches being played (and won!) and great
interest created within this impressionable section of
our community. Through the generosity of local
businesses we have been able to a strong team “identity”
with boys all receiving a playing shirt with a club
badge and unique name and number, plus a gold-coloured
cap – they make quite an impact around the town!
Off the field of play has also been a tremendous
experience over the past 5 years, with incredible
improvements in the playing surface and ground, and the
development of a very strong social presence within our
community. The investment in new equipment and
facilities has been achieved through the generous
support of business sponsorship and individual
benefactors, and allows us to provide a cricket match
when many other local sides are cancelled – many thanks
to all concerned, including the famed “Northleach
micro-climate”.
On
regular occasions through the year the club can be found
helping at a community event, maybe cooking at the
annual “Sausage Tasting” or the “Northleach Country
Day”.
Further developments around the club include: the
creation of a Ladies team, winning our indoor cricket
league in the first year of entry, and tours to foreign
soils! All in all, the club is vibrant and expansive,
and always on the lookout for new ideas and adventures.
Five years ago, we made a commitment that our
development would be based on
“ensuring the ongoing development of cricket within the
local community” – we continue to uphold
this strategic aim in all we do.
Ensuring the ongoing development of cricket within the
local community
How do we intend to continue this
ambitious aim? Thanks to the generous funding and
support we receive from local business partners and
individual benefactors, Northleach Town CC is
well-placed to put cricket in the forefront of local
events. This includes some success in attracting support
from both the ECB and The Lords’ Taverners, and our
inclusion within the Glos. County Cricket Development
Plan (one of only 22 clubs across the county).
The financial assistance received over
recent seasons has helped with the dramatic improvement
in the playing surface and overall appearance of the
ground, plus the added benefit of enabling the most
successful period in the history of the club – with
promotion to CDCA Division 1 being achieved last year!
Such success, on and off
the field of play, has generated great levels of
interest amongst players and supporters throughout the
local area.
Investment in grounds equipment has seen
outfield machinery and a wicket mower purchased, plus
the appointment of our own groundsman, Phil Webb.
Indeed, Phil is now a member of the Institute of
Groundmanship, and can be seen spending much of his time
attending to “his” square – rather sad for a 24
year-old! After several years of neglect, we are now
well into our 5-year plan to improve the “playability”
of the home wicket, with significant success to date.
On-field performances have been helped
tremendously by the acquisition of practice nets and the
recent purchase of a Flicx artificial wicket. These
items will enable us to run two separate practice nets,
to cater for all abilities and ages, as the Flicx does
provide a safe and consistent surface for bowlers and
batsmen alike. These facilities form the foundation of
our outdoor practice initiatives, which will be most
welcome after an intensive winter spent indoors at
Burford School.
Our links with Northleach CofE Primary
School have allowed many children to enjoy KwikCricket
through several avenues: the regular Friday after-school
club, a national ECB schools tournament at Cirencester
CC, and a cluster-schools event hosted by Northleach
Town CC.
In order to retain the interest of the
“youth element” we will be using our new Inter-Cricket
equipment, aimed at developing junior cricketers up to
13 years of age. The key objective here is to promote
cricket within the younger age groups – they will become
the stars of the future, as seen by the performances of
Martin Turner and Harry Whitworth over recent seasons
for the 1st XI. |
