Heyside Cricket Club secretary Paul Matthews has identified junior players as the club’s future and hopes to attract more to the game at their ECB Open Day.
The ECB Club Open Days initiative, supported by Waitrose, is a nationwide programme that aims to help boost grassroots cricket participation by encouraging cricket clubs to open their pavilion doors and welcome guests from their local community for a day of cricket taster sessions and activities.
This summer more than a 1000 cricket clubs will host a Club Open Day nationwide, with Heyside hosting theirs on Saturday August 13.
The club’s junior membership has increased from 12 to 65 in the last four years, which has enabled them to start a girls under 11’s side.
There will be a coaching session from 9.30am which will run until 12.30, when juniors will be invited to watch an adult game in the afternoon.
The club is making a conscious effort to attract boys and girls to cricket in the hope that they will remain members for years, and Matthews hopes the Open Day will increase their junior membership.
“We think that if a player starts young then they will stay with us the whole way through,” he said.
“Junior members are the future of any club, so it is vital that we have a successful set-up, and here we have good coaching and a range of teams.”
Entering its third year, the ECB Club Open Day scheme has proved to be a successful initiative, with 900 clubs holding events in 2014 – a 300 per cent increase from 2013 – welcoming 116,820 guests, with 9,000 becoming new players, volunteers and social members.
Clubs taking part will enjoy £100 food and drink offer from Waitrose to help deliver their event, and Matthews is hoping to see plenty of new faces walk through the door.
“Everyone has some ability. They may not be the best player, but everyone can bat, bowl and field,” he said.
“We urge everyone to come and have a go. It’s a relaxed environment and we welcome anybody.
“We often find that people become members even if they don’t play. They like the social side a lot and that keeps them around.
“At the end of the day, that is what is most important.”
For more information about Club Open Days, supported by Waitrose, including a full list of clubs registered, visit ecb.co.uk/clubopendays.
