Save Village Cricket

The Dawn of a New Era of Collaboration

By Ben Wilson

Save Village Cricket never set out to become a national movement promoting, advocating, and taking action on behalf of cricket clubs everywhere. Instead, it began with a simple ‘cry for help’ from a Herts League club which – during its 70th year –found itself unable to field any sides on the first Saturday last summer.

For those of you who haven’t read the letter from Bayford Cricket Club – a small, but longstanding village cricket club –see opposite. It was only meant for a Hertfordshire audience but, having released it far and wide – thanks to the power of social media – it seemed to resonate with clubs everywhere. It seems as though we were not the only club struggling, looking for answers as to how to halt the decline in participation.

Now some of you reading this may be at clubs that are thriving and that is fantastic to see! This new-founded campaign is here to celebrate success, in the hope that clubs can learn from what works for others. Some of you will say: “invest in junior cricket; build the pipeline” and we wholeheartedly agree, though it isn’t easier for smaller village clubs surrounded by larger town clubs who already successfully cater for that specific audience. We can debate solutions and issues long into the night, but what we do need now is practical solutions.

So, what can we, as a community of Hertfordshire clubs, do to support every club in our county to thrive? Also ensuring that clubs – big and small – are here not just for the next five years but for the next 50. Cricket clubs are such important parts of communities, while grounds, as we all know, are not easy to replace!

What we learnt from last year is that collaboration between clubs goes a long way. Not only in ensuring fixtures are fulfilled and that everyone who wants to play cricket on a Saturday can do so, but in giving youngsters a chance to play adult league cricket.

For example, we at Bayford not only hosted players from other clubs in our 2nd XI, when their own games were cancelled, but also sent players to other clubs. We also hosted young cricketers who would otherwise not have got a game that week, ensuring they got a bowl or a bat. On some occasions both!

Want to know more?

Contact: Ben Wilson Tel: 07852 916901

E-mail: savevillagecricket@gmail.com https://twitter.com/savevcricket

We all know that in a competitive environment it is sometimes hard for clubs to think outside of their own bubbles.

We get it! No club wants to offer players to other clubs, just to find themselves short themselves on a Saturday morning. However, it is exactly this thinking that is actually more damaging than we all realise.

As an example, just think of the young cricketers who, not having been picked for a number of Saturdays, may drift away from the game, lost forever. This benefits no-one. Instead think of the young cricketer who spends time playing regular adult cricket, perhaps at another club, gaining all that experience, and comes back hungry next season to play at a higher level. It is this new era of collaborative thinking that will be critical moving forward. We all have a responsibility to ensure that cricket in Hertfordshire is thriving and we are in it together. So, if you can collaborate with others, or answer a cry for help from a club this season, do so. Let’s lead the way in Hertfordshire by ushering in a new era of collaboration!

AN OPEN LETTER TO SAVE VILLAGE CRICKET Dear All,

At Bayford and Hertford Nondescripts CC, after the grim world of lockdowns, social distancing and no changing rooms or bar, the 2022 post pandemic cricket season promised a bright, fresh start We hoped that the very bastion of an English Summer – village cricket – would see old players return and new players, of whatever standard, wanting to give the game a try.

However, this has not been the case and, as we approach our 70th year, the club unfortunately is in trouble. This week, for the first time in our modern history there was no league game for Bayford cricketers, the club having to concede both the home and away fixture. We were not alone, with more than a dozen games conceded across the Herts Saracens League.

There are numerous reasons for the decline in playing numbers, cricket is a long game and time is precious to many people, ‘time poor’ has become a common phrase. Travelling adds to the burden. Furthermore, a game which has long periods when not much happens seems at odds with a society built on instant gratification. Competing priorities for young people is no doubt a contributing factor to a significant drop in numbers Sadly, without action more clubs will inevitably close with cricket fields lost to the community. More recently the current cost of living crisis may also impact.

This season we have made a conscious decision to remove any financial barriers to participation, making all cricket free to play, with no membership fees or match subscriptions and keeping bar prices as low as possible. The club is financially sound and well run. We want to encourage those who have given up the game, or who may wish to play for the first time, to come and enjoy a Saturday at one of the most picturesque grounds in Hertfordshire with excellent facilities.

It is a common problem impacting on recreational cricket, so the fundamental question is what can be done to save village cricket? In our view, there needs to be an urgent discussion throughout cricket about a long-term strategy to support and rebuild the game. This needs to be bottom up and involve as many players and explayers as possible, all Clubs, Leagues and Governing Bodies. This needs to be given priority as there is clearly no easy answers.

More immediately, we are writing today to ask the local cricketing community to come together to help save their local village club Those that will have sat at the heart of their local communities for many years.

It would make sense for smaller clubs to partner with larger clubs who may have an excess of players whether old heads or young bucks. By working together, we can ensure that as many of those who wish to play cricket on a Saturday can get a game. We needed half a dozen extra players last weekend to fill our 2 sides could we not ‘borrow’ those who aren’t being picked? We would provide a safe and friendly environment to offer the chance to participate.

If you are a larger club, can you help your local, village side?

The aim of this letter is not to criticise anyone but to act as a rallying cry to work together to save a game we all love. Recreational cricket has been a source of pleasure for an enormous number of people, and we want to continue to offer this opportunity. Our fear is that if we don’t act cricket will slowly die out at this level.

If you can help us or others, we would be delighted to have a conversation. Do contact Ben Wilson on 07852 916 901 or ben.wilson@cause4.co.uk

Yours, BHNCC https://www.bhncc.co.uk/ https://twitter.com/savevcricket

Facing the Financial Storm

All clubs are facing a new challenge to their existence, the cost of living crisis. How are they coping? This article was written by Richard Edwards for the Club Cricket Conference. We are grateful for their permission to share it.

No-one involved in club cricket needs reminding just how tough the last few years have been for the recreational game in this country. The pandemic posed perhaps the greatest threat the sport has had to face. Then, just as clubs scrambled to their feet, the cost of living crisis came along and bowled them over again.

With the 2023 season upon us, the Club Cricket Conference newsletter went in search of clubs who have found themselves in the eye of this financial storm - clubs who have suddenly found themselves attempting to manage soaring costs as inflation hit double-digits. Despite the government’s intervention, utility bill prices – which in many cases have doubled in just six months - have also placed enormous pressure on clubs that could be forgiven for feeling weary from the battles they’ve had to fight since 2020. The club cricket community, though, is a hardy one. And as we found through our many discussions in recent weeks, there’s an up and at ‘em mentality, and a determination to see every challenge as an opportunity. Yes, there might be some clubs who are unable to ride out another storm – but there are plenty who are prepared to do just that, and, to their eternal credit, also offer help and advice to those who need it most.

“I think one of the key things we learnt through Covid, a very difficult period, was the need to communicate with other clubs,” says Gareth White, chairman and former captain of Cockermouth Cricket Club, former home of England skipper, Ben Stokes. Cont'd....

“I think that’s generally something that cricket clubs have got much better at - sharing best practice and ensuring that, when cricket clubs need help, they don’t feel like they’re on their own.”

In purely practical terms, the surge in inflation from just 0.4% in February 2021 to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October 2022, has created the kind of cost pressures that no cricket club has had to face in a generation.

Whether it’s equipment for the upkeep of grounds and the maintenance of pitches, or the cost of beer, crisps and soft drinks from the bar, the impact has been dramatic. There is, though, a determination to ensure that spiralling costs are managed in a way which doesn’t place an extra burden on players, club members or those who come to the cricket ground to socialise.

Totteridge Millhillians Cricket Club of the Hertfordshire Cricket League are very much a community club, and one which opens its doors to the local public as readily in winter as summer. Like others they have been left feeling the pinch. But they’re intent on maintaining a positive outlook.

“Our utility bills have gone up by around £1000 a month,” says Club Secretary, Wyn Bowen. “The knock-on effect is that is we decided to retain the opening of bar between six and nine, or later if there was football on, but we’ve seen a decrease in footfall, whether that’s because of people tightening their belts, I’m not sure.

“We’re also seeing a 10 to 15% increase in wholesaler prices on bar goods and stock. Plus things such as seed and so forth have risen hugely too. Generally, it’s quite apparent that things have gone up. I think the accounts for October 2023 show us in a slight loss-making position. For us, it’s a case of looking at how we get more social members and how we run more events in the pavilion. Those are central because it’s not easy just sticking membership and match fees up.

“Cricketers, we find, tend to look at what other clubs are charging, particularly in the second, third or fourth teams. Players will look around and see if it’s much cheaper to play in another side.”

No matter the financial strains placed on clubs, there is a clear intention not to increase the financial burden on the paying public, or the players, going into the 2023 season. That’s not to say that clubs have their heads in the sand over the issue.

“We know that costs have gone up, everyone can see that – you only have to go into a supermarket to see the impact that inflation has had,” says White. “But we’ve always tried to ensure that we’re an affordable club for our senior and junior members in terms of our membership prices. We want to make cricket accessible to absolutely everyone. What we definitely don’t want, is for anyone to think that they can’t afford to play.”

Cockermouth’s bar prices remain considerably lower than pubs in the town, which is largely the case in cricket clubs up and down the country. The club also take great pride in the fact that they were the first bar to re-open after the 2020 lockdown, opening up their outfield as perhaps Cumbria’s largest beer garden (below).

White also believes that leagues are being more flexible in order to maximise economic opportunity.

“Post-Covid, there has been a real change in the way that people think, there’s a lot more flexibility,” says White. “Providing you can agree with the other club to move fixtures, then you can switch them to a Friday night to try and attract as many people to the club as possible.”

That’s just one example of the way that leagues are now working with their clubs. It’s a similar story down the M6 in Lancashire.

“I think clubs in our league have traditionally tried to keep costs for members as low as possible,” says Mike Bibby, the chairman of the Lancashire Cricket League. “Yes, money is tight for some at the moment but I think that, generally, those additional costs that clubs are incurring aren’t being reflected in the amounts that people are being asked to pay.

“A lot of our clubs will open during the week (in winter) when there’s a big football match on, they’ve all got big screens and it’s a great way of them encouraging people to use the club’s facilities. The costs have gone up dramatically but, at the moment at least, no clubs seem to be in financial trouble.”

The picture away from English cricket’s top leagues, however, is, as Bibby concedes, likely to be far more concerning.

“You have to be sympathetic to a lot of village clubs or clubs in rural areas – they must be struggling and there must be an obvious danger of some going out of business entirely,” he says.

“On a practical level, if these high prices continue, and if you’re paying increasing amounts on energy, then a lot of clubs will be looking at whether they can afford a professional, or recruit an overseas player.”

Every club in the Lancashire League has a professional for this season, but a fair number have decided against bringing in a player from outside the UK for 2023 and potentially beyond. Part of the reason for that could be related to the visa issues experienced last summer – with Home Office delays causing some to abandon their recruitment plans – but cost is undoubtedly the over-riding factor.

“At least if you’re paying a local or an English pro, you’re not paying travelling, accommodation for the season or flights here in the first place,” says Bibby.

Of course, further down the pyramid, these aren’t even considerations. But, regardless of a club’s standing or size, Simon Prodger, managing director at the National Cricket Conference, believes the most important factor is having visibility into the situation each individual club faces.

“Clubs need to be proactive,” he says.

“Clubs need to identify what needs to be done. At my own club (Watford Town) we’ve had a root and branch look at what we can do. We're not financially stretched but if we have a whole season where our costs are out-stripping our returns then that will impact our figures. We’re very cheap when it comes to the cost of our beer, so we may need to play a bit of catch-up when it comes to increasing the price on our pumps.

“We have a very good and active bar at the moment. For the sake of our members we would like to continue to offer that kind of cost difference (between the club and the pub) but every step of the way, our costs are increasing. We have to be prudent and, as a result of inflation, we should really be adding 10% onto our prices.”

On the field, there’s also a sense that uncertainty lurks around every corner going into the new season.

“We’ve already had some clubs tell us that they’re going to be unable to field the same number of teams that they did in 2022,” says Prodger (below, left, with Mark Stear)

“Putting up prices and putting up match fees or subscriptions is going to do nothing to address that problem. It becomes a perfect storm. You try and balance the books and do what’s necessary – but by doing that you’re passing the costs down to your membership and if you’re membership can’t afford them you suddenly find that you go from three teams on a Saturday to two. Then you’re not generating the amount of income you would with three teams.

“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that things get tougher. Clubs need to get on the front foot.”

Help is at hand

The pandemic saw the ECB almost take on the role of a central bank for the recreational game, providing loans and grants that helped clubs weather the most testingw financial environment in the sport’s history. Now, almost three years on, help is still available for those clubs which need it.

Grants are available of up to £10,000 to create welcome environments and enhance facilities for playing, particularly for women, girls and disability cricket. The ECB also wants to help clubs to invest in energy saving technology and there is an interest free loan scheme for clubs. Details on the ECB website: www.ecb.co.uk/be-involved/ club-support/club-funding