Innings & outings

How Friday night junior cricket has become the summer social jolly for parents

LIVE IN THE Surrey Hills or South Downs? (Tick). On or close to a village green or cricket field? (Double tick).

School-age poppets aged from about six upwards? (Award ticks depending on how many potential Ben Stokeses/Heather Knights you have). Play cricket yourself or obsessed with Test Match Special? (No ticks because you’ll be too absorbed in little Jasper or Jemima’s batting form to take the real Friday night action seriously).

You see, from Albury to Ardingly; Wonersh to Wisborough Green, Friday night is cricket practice night, and it’s not only the kids – but the mums and dads who come out to play. What better way to end the week than with a chilled glass of Albury Estate Blanc de Blancs, a Silent Pool G&T or Dunsfold-brewed Loxhill Biscuit pale ale? (All Surrey’s finest, naturally; simply substitute low-alcohol versions if driving.)

It’s a quintessential English summer scenario – the sound of leather on willow, sweet birdsong on a balmy summer’s evening and the buzz of parents chatting on the pavilion.

In an area boasting scores of picturesque villages set around traditional commons or greens, these scenes are being played out on a weekly basis in many different locations.

Junior cricket practice is a mainstay of the village calendar. It provides the perfect opportunity for youngsters to hone the requisite skills of catching, throwing, bowling and batting while the adults commentate… on what’s been happening in their lives that week.

The sessions also develop team spirit and resilience, bringing parents together in support of the Under 9s (10s, 11s, etc.) whatever the result on match day.

Yet another attraction of these Surrey Hills/South Downs Friday night soirées is that there’s no slaving over a hot oil-fired or electric Aga (gas is scarcer than Waitrose parking spaces in some villages) when the hungry tribe returns home.

Usually Friday nights see a barbecue fired up, or there’s a wood-fired pizza van, or fully laden picnic hampers have been pre-loaded into the Range Rover Sport.

According to Mark Bullen, Senior Junior Coach at Arundel Cricket Club in West Sussex, the more parents, the merrier. By propping up the bar, they’re helping to fund the club.

“The bar revenue really makes a difference. We sometimes have a barbecue on Friday night which helps build team spirit as well as boost club funds, so what better excuse? Parents often bring friends along to introduce them to the club, which is great as we love to have new members.

“While they’re all watching and relaxing with a drink, it’s also a really good time for me to go and ask someone to come and help with the coaching, or even to tap someone up to play for the senior team if we’re short the next day!”

“The great thing about senior cricket is that 13-year-olds and up can play alongside their parents (both mums and dads) on a Sunday cricket level. Because it’s a technical rather than a physical sport, it’s fine for different age groups to play together,” he added.

Arundel CC also has a thriving girls’ section, with a team in the league.

In Surrey, England’s so-called biggest village of Cranleigh has an historic cricket club on the common.

It’s regarded as an important sporting and social asset to the village for both adults and children and welcomes all new playing and social members.

The bar, described by the club as “the biggest watering place in Cranleigh with some of the best views in the village” is open on both Thursdays and Fridays for parents to enjoy a drink while the children nail their bowling target drills (and their parents consistently fail to notice).

“If I’m working late and miss Friday practice, there’s never any point in asking my wife how the coaching went because she won’t have a clue,” said the father of one Cranleigh junior, Mr X (anonymity granted to avoid sticky wicket with Mrs X).

Cranleigh CC’s junior section has doubled in size since 2019 and now has a large cohort of 350 youngsters from U6s to U19s. (Forget cricket, parents may need rugby skills to reach the bar on practice nights! We jest here, it’s actually very well run – there’s never a scrum.)

Of the 350 junior members, 150 are girls and Cranleigh has an ambition to make that a 50/50 split over the next couple of seasons. Some age groups already have more girls than boys.

Rob Warburton, head of the junior section said: “Our junior section goes from strength to strength.

“We aim to provide a safe, fun and rewarding environment for our players, coaches and parents. We have a large number of high-class coaches providing some of the best cricket instruction in Surrey.

“We also pride ourselves on being able to support and develop those new to the game, players who want to play for fun, as well as the very few who are part of the Surrey pathway programme.”

Blackheath Cricket Club, near Guildford in Surrey, has two beautiful grounds: one at Grafham, off the A281, and the other in the village of Blackheath, tucked away and surrounded by miles of protected woodland.

The junior section is so popular that there’s a waiting list. There are over 300 boys and girls in all age groups from Under 6 to Under 15.

While the atmosphere is fun, friendly and social, the club’s youngsters also play at a high standard: in 2023, the U13s, U14s and U15s are all playing in the top tier of the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship (SJCC), against the best teams in the county – if not the country.

Blackheath was one of the first clubs to exploit the Friday evening junior practice/parents’ social some 15 years ago, according to club chairman

“It actually played a huge role in reviving the club, which was struggling at the time,” he explained.

In fact, the evenings proved so popular that, pre-pandemic, the pavilion was full to capacity, and numbers had to be limited.

“This has become a real feature of the social scene in Surrey in summer. Since the pandemic, we’ve had to limit numbers in deference to the village, so we’re splitting Friday coaching between Blackheath and Grafham – both will have bars and barbecues this year.”

Coaching for the U7s to U12s at Blackheath starts from April and continues until mid-July.

“The bar is well-stocked and generally opens Friday evenings from around 4.30pm onwards. Many families come for the whole evening because they have kids in different coaching age groups. It’s such a lovely pavilion and area to relax and have a drink.”

Anyone wanting to sign up their juniors can head to the website and click the ‘New Member’ button. While there’s a waiting list, the club is usually able to offer places to most children, particularly in the girls’ section.

After all, whether the U9s are playing softball or (U10s+) hardball, parents are free to have a ball – safe in the knowledge that whatever they imbibe is helping keep their local cricket club afloat. Cheers to that!

Cranleigh And Surrey Hills

Nick Moulden has lived and worked in the Surrey Hills for the past 25 years. Like most of the Partners at house. Partnership, his formative years were spent working for corporate agents, including Hamptons, where he started his career in the country house department in Guildford. He also spent 15 years with Burns & Webber. Nick is based in Cranleigh and spends his spare time exploring the Surrey Hills countryside making him an expert on the local area.

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Cranleigh And Surrey Hills

Jack Foster studied Business at University and then completed a corporate graduate scheme before starting his agency career at Knight Frank in Guildford. Using his knowledge and experience from his previous role, Jack joined house. Partnership in 2021 to help further the business in the Surrey Hills. Jack is very knowledgeable about the surrounding area due to being brought up in Godalming and attending school in Cranleigh.

jfoster@housepartnership.co.uk 01483 266 700 07903 729 786