Cricket clubs, in Yorkshire and further afield, face many a challenge on any given day. Volunteers might sit on a mower for hours, spend their spare time baking cakes for teas or wading through a grant application.
While the number of helpers, the amount of time things take and the perpetual balancing act between work and other commitments is far from easy, clubs can partly cope with those mountains.
What really hurts are those instances that are beyond anyone’s control. In the past few weeks, I’ve seen a number of examples, by no means exhaustive, that point to how tough it can be to run a cricket club.
Bridgeholm flooding
Bridgeholm Cricket Club know a thing or two about flooding. They were hammered by the Boxing Day floods of 2015, had another major one in April of this year and were underwater again at the end of July.
In fact, the ground becomes a swimming pool two or three times a year and each occasion, it’s groundsman Keith Hudson who clears up the mess and gets it looking immaculate again.
It’s not so much the water but when the river comes over the wall, silt and sand gets deposited on the outfield which causes more problems.
They play in the Halifax Cricket League and despite frequent cleanups, Keith is understandably proud of their Eastwood HQ which won a Gold Award by Yorkshire in Bloom in 2018.
Kirkstall Educational Break-In
Those that run Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club are a resilient bunch – and they have to be. There was yet another break-in at the end of July – with damage and items stolen including a sound system, TV and laptops.
The groundsman there, Hodgy, has been interviewed on here before and the pitches for their home matches in the Aire Wharfe Cricket League are a thing of beauty.
They believe they’ve been targeted 17 times in the past 5 years but to their credit, Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club bounce back every time. Short of laser traps, retina scans and 24-hour security patrols, it’s hard to know how else KECC can do to protect themselves.
Gang violence at Linthwaite
A match at Linthwaite Cricket Club was interrupted recently when a gang of youths, wielding knives, a baseball bat and pitchfork, came on to the field and attacked players.
It resulted in a number of injuries including a broken leg sustained by a Kirkheaton player. The chilling warning that “this is our postcode” suggests this might not be the last of the trouble either.
Each example points to a societal or environmental problem that feels unlikely to improve anytime soon. I’m of the belief that global warming and the impact of more extreme weather will be felt across the UK in increasing severity.
As for cricket clubs being vandalised or thugs attacking players, I’m at a total loss to explain that behaviour. It hurts communities where cricket does so much good.
Yes, these are depressing, extreme examples but nor are they by any means the only incidents in Yorkshire, let alone other cricketing heartlands.
Cricket clubs have a lot thrown at them. Volunteers don’t just have to prepare for matches, balance the books and a million other strands. They become unwittingly embroiled in disasters that erupt from nowhere.
Is it time for more grassroots grants and investment in security?
A quick scroll of Twitter reveals Sheffield Civil Service, Millhouses Works and Bankfoot all recent victims of theft or vandalism; the latter enduring their third break-in this year.
So, how can cricket clubs better protect themselves? I don’t have all the answers but they certainly need all the help they can get. It’s time to be proactive rather than reactive.
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Help must come from the governing body of our sport. We have the 100 that I understand some where in the region of £30 million has been spent on promotion alone. Clubs need a small bite of the cherry to help keep this national sport of ours alive at the base.
Thanks for the mention John @ Sheffield Civil Service we still got the game on Saturday after lots of spiking of a wet patch but we managed to get on thought the wind. As a club based in the more salubrious part of town the issues facing clubs appear to be disproportionately impacting such teams the locale means the issues of break ins, vandalism, funding, facilities, low levels of volunteer time by players and importantly lack of new plays and current ones less interested due to the factors above. Cricket clubs are not all 4-5 team, behemoths with juniors, coaches and 4 net lanes neither are they idyllic village greens. Most are somewhere in between with ones in the urban and suburban areas suffering the most unless they give into pressure and fold/merge. To expand on Dave’s point this money for clubs needs to be for all as currently from the outside looking in it seems to disproportionately go to the two types of clubs i’ve mentioned. Most of us are somewhere in between.
Thanks Aden, it’s tricky to know how to best support those clubs in the best possible way and seem fair to everyone. What would be your view for solutions – as a club that is targeted?
Not really Im afraid CCTV calls to the police aside there is very little we can do. In terms of sports though we are lucky the last two have at least targeted the club (which we can clean and get on with it) and no things like the equipment shed and mowers which would be a bigger issue getting the cricket and football matches on. It just makes us a less appealing place to play either sport or be a social club member not to mention the all important event bookings (weddings, parties, funerals, etc). It can start a vicious cycle of funds and member reduction which in turn demonises the possibility of improving the dilapidated facilities. At least our ground is gated clubs in public parks stand no chance.
We must ensure that we differentiate between natural (Bridgeholme) and theft/violence ( Kirkstall Educ & Linthwaite etc) problems and not mix the two.
The latter, especially Linthwaite, is most concerning and let us not avoid the subject as this has been reported as an unprovoked racist attack (see postcode reference)
As John Fuller comments help must come from the authorities but the real concern must be that we get repeats of the Linthwaite incident around the cricket grounds of Yorkshire where the majority of players are Asian.
Those clubs, situated in areas which may be surrounded by a white hooligan population, must now be on their guard and that we do all that we can to advise and assist with security,
Thanks for the comment Paul. Agree that flooding and security are two separate issues though both a blow to the volunteers running these clubs. With the flooding, obviously many clubs are well versed with the consequences but I can’t say if they are protected as well as they can be. I think weather-related incidents will be on the rise. As for Linthwaite, hard to know what to do except more vigilance and protection from the authorities. I wish them well.