New stretch target
With more money we are able to improve the net facilities further by replacing the poles that support the netting. This will provide a longer term solution.
We are raising money to refurbish our cricket facilities to enable a safe & secure practice area for our members and growing junior section.
by Matthew Harvey in Temple Grafton, England, United Kingdom
With more money we are able to improve the net facilities further by replacing the poles that support the netting. This will provide a longer term solution.
Your community needs your help. Show your support and this project could be in with a chance of receiving a slice of Calor’s £85,000 funding pot. Projects receive 1 point for every like or share and 10 points when someone donates. Remember to log in or sign up for your points to count. Click here for more details.
Temple Grafton Cricket Club
We are a small but growing family based village cricket club on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon.
(below: our beautiful cricket ground)
We field two Saturday sides in the Cotswold Hills League, Sunday and midweek friendlies against a range of local and international touring sides, midweek 20-over social matches and we have a newly formed junior section.
The club strives to maintain a strong social ethos with the emphasis very much on participation, inclusivity and our legendary cricket teas!
The club has its roots dating back to 1879, however in recent years we have seen an upturn in interest in our club and a growing membership. The support we have had from the community is clearly demonstrated by the success of recent community based fund-raising to replace a collapsed floor in our iconic tea hut, and reaching the final judging round in both the 2019 and 2020 Calor Community Fund Appeal.
Dynamos Cricket
In 2021 the club started the ECB led initiative "Dynamos Cricket", which is described as the perfect introduction for all 8-11 year-olds new to the sport. Whilst this is a huge step for the club, we are all very excited about the future for our club that this development brings.
When we started our new junior section we got a fantastic response to help out with the coaching by our current membership, with both young and old members stepping up to help coach. We also had a huge success with over 20 kids signing up in our first year.
Junior Section Head Coach Mark Johnston comments: "As a club we are really proud of what we have achieved in such a short timeframe, and this bodes well for the future of the sport in the local community and surrounding areas. We plan to grow our junior section over the coming years, and having safe and secure training facilities is a big part of being able to achieve this."
(below: bowling practice in the sun...)
Our Appeal
As we grow our club and introduce the game of cricket to a new generation of players, we also recognise that our current facilities are desperately in need of rejuvenation. Our net practice facility is falling down, the net to contain the balls is full of holes, and the matting is wearing thin and has holes in it. This does not provide a safe environment for kids to play cricket, and we need to take urgent action to address this.
(below: our current net facility being installed 18 years ago by our now 6ft 4 opening bowler!)
The money that we raise through the Calor Community Fund will be spent on replacing the mat and the netting, to enable us to provide a safe and secure practice facility.
(below: netting full of holes and not fit for purpose of containing balls)
Our stretch target then aims to replace the frame that holds the netting in place, and re-surfacing the concrete base.
Achieving both of these will provide the safe facilities that our growing membership and junior section needs to develop over the next generation
Breakdown of cost of project:
Replacement netting £175
Replacement cricket mat with underlay £854
Replace net support poles £595
Thank you for all your continued support, it really is greatly appreciated.
Matt Harvey (Chairman Temple Grafton Cricket Club)
This project offers rewards in return for your donation.