ACS Cricket Ground Equipment: Decades of serving clubs

The journey of ACS Cricket Equipment centres on the Shaws and their family business based in the West Yorkshire village of Calverley.

Over many years, they’ve forged a stellar reputation by providing sightscreens, roll-on cricket covers, flatsheet covers and roll-on cricket nets to grounds across the country.

There’s a high chance that your club or school might have something made by ACS, either bought directly or through the trade.

If we re-wind quite a bit, Alan Shaw used to be an engineer who also helped to service lawnmowers for cricket clubs. Alan then formed ACS and began over 30 years of designing and building cricket ground equipment.

Talking to Richard, Alan’s son, who has been a central figure for the last decade, a family business brings with it an onus to build relationships and go above and beyond:

“What’s hugely important to us is the best customer service and the quality of what we build. It has to be exactly what a cricket club or a school needs.”

Bespoke design

Your cricket club could buy something off the shelf that does the job and may well cost less than ACS.

What you get from Richard and his team is a personalised service. All cricket grounds have their quirks and particular needs. ACS might be able to visit, can certainly offer advice and create a solution that’s just right for what you need.

Hundreds of cricket clubs have bought equipment manufactured by ACS and they keep returning because there’s that trust there.

So, what do I mean by bespoke design?

I’ll start with a story from Richard that made me chuckle. Apparently, when the North Stand at Yorkshire County Cricket Club was built, there was an oversight.

No room for the sightscreen apparently. Step forward ACS Cricket Equipment to design and provide – at very short notice – a sightscreen that was incorporated into the stand (see above).

In club cricket, ACS are often contacted to come up with a way to incorporate a sightscreen if there’s no room from the boundary edge.

They’re cricket experts and problem solvers. At the moment, Richard is looking to help Woodlands in the Bradford League with ball-stop netting that’s modified to have a mesh sightscreen in front.

At Bradford Park Avenue, Richard designed a roller mechanism for black vinyl to allow the sightscreen to switch from white to black, whenever required.

Spare parts

The journey doesn’t stop there. Stuff unfortunately gets damaged (by high winds or vandalism) and clubs will have random requests.

That’s what sets ACS apart. The support before, during and after.

Need a cricket covers wheel or sight screen mesh because it was knocked down in a recent storm? No problem – because ACS make their own products, they have smart solutions as well as the ability to supply extra parts.

Always innovating

You know the dome-shaped roll-on covers that you see all over the country?
ACS were the original designers; they also created the removable plastic board sight screen.

With over 10,000 square feet of workshops and warehousing at their Calverley HQ, they always have stock and can supply clubs with a custom request at relatively short notice.

That said, they’re in demand so if your club is planning on investing in covers, sightscreens, batting cages or flatsheets for 2024, start the ball rolling now!

New product for 2024

New for 2024 will be a product that thirstily slurps up standing water on cricket grounds in no time at all.

Think of it as a magic sponge with a water tank behind it. (Because that’s literally what it is).

With design input from David Hodgson at Kirkstall Educational CC, this will be an invaluable addition to any cricket ground. (That’s Richard Robinson, Head of Grounds at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, using one for the Third Test of the 2023 Ashes).

Sure, there are versions already out there on the market but the ‘ACS Express Water Guzzler’ (working title, I made that up) will be much more affordable with cost-effective replacement parts too.

Watch out for more news in January – we might do a competition to win one!

Feedback from clubs

A last point on ACS is about what cricket clubs already think of them. Before approaching Richard about a partnership, I did my usual due diligence because I’m always looking for companies with a strong reputation that can genuinely help clubs.

Feedback was unanimously generous about customer service, cricket knowledge and going the extra mile.

When I put up this post about them on our Facebook page (see above), the same thing happened. Really positive reviews. If you’re one of the 11,000+ members of the Cricket Groundsperson Facebook group, recommendations for ACS come up all the time.

When you’re buying cricket ground equipment, you need to be able to trust it’ll last, do the job it is meant to do and if you have questions or need repairs, that’s ok too.

That’s the ACS way. By designing and making everything themselves, the level of care and attention continues through to aftercare.

You won’t get that everywhere. So, if your cricket club needs a personal service from Richard’s team from start to finish then give ACS a call.

Get in touch

Contact Richard Shaw and his team at ACS Cricket Ground Equipment and they’ll be able to arrange a quote.

You can browse products on the ACS website, email [email protected] or call them on 01274 620921.

(Mention Cricket Yorkshire if you remember, it all helps them know how you discovered them.)

This is a sponsored article on behalf of ACS Cricket Equipment – if the mood takes you, click to read Cricket Yorkshire’s policy on sponsored content.