For those that couldn't come along to our official openings on Thursday & Friday, a quick summary as follows...
Having started the fund raising in December 2022 we raised the required £85k which is big investment for our club, but is absolutely the right one.
We identified that we needed these nets to take pressure off of the squares as they are getting over used and because we continue to grow as a club…5 Men's Sat teams, a mid week team, a Ladies team, 11 Junior teams & with future ambitions to have Girls teams at all ages so this investment is a sign of the success of the club. We decided that if we were to invest in new nets then we would invest in top quality, state of the art nets & ensure that they are protected with the perimeter fence. We have cricketing facilities that are the best for miles & miles around – 2 pitches & a Junior soft ball pitch, an Indoor Centre and now state of the art outdoor nets.
This hasn’t happened on its own & a huge amount of effort & passion has gone into it.
Firstly in terms of raising the funds which has been an incredible effort by some key people & our members generally. We obtained an ECB grant of £10k & we allocated £23k of the club reserves, we raised £25k from various events including an Evening with Andrew Strauss, the PCA Day, a Curry night organised by the Ladies, Christmas wreaths, the Friday night cafe/bbq......we raised money by crowd funding & received donations by many members……& we thank everyone who has contributed.
But we ought to particularly thank the following people who made very significant donations….Mick Slater (life time member of ECC & driving force behind the ESA & its development) – a huge £30k donation, Harry Sims & his Nick who raised money by walking the boundary of 50 cricket pitches in Berks/Hants & raised multiple thousands of £s, Archie Blackman & his Dad Steve who also raised a four figure sum of money, Nigel Cresswell who persuaded an international touring team to donate surplus monies again in the thousands to our new nets. Also to the fund raising team...Tom & Joe Howorth, Upinder Aujla, Jemma Taylor, Nick Sims. Michelle & Simon Riddy for supporting the various events in the Clubhouse & on the PCA Day.
Secondly the team that made the installation happen – Martin Perkin (planning permission, oversaw the installation, co-ordination with the ESA & footballers & last years PCA Day), Beth Mathews (who worked with ECB to secure the Grant), Chris Last (identifying suppliers, setting specifications & obtaining quotations).
Apologies if I have not mention anyone that I should be this was a truly club wide effort.
A fantastic achievement that will provide a fantastic training opportunity to you our members for years to come.
Dave Howorth