Pannal Cricket Club has launched a £20,000 campaign to replace its ageing nets and enable its members to improve their game.
Under the title ‘Netfix’, the club is offering rewards to supporters ranging from branded caps and popular pies to a hospitality day when Headingley hosts the Ashes this year.
With almost 300 members across its junior and senior teams, committee member Andy Herridge said the club is keen to ensure it offers the best facilities.
“We’ve really needed some new nets for the last couple of years. They’ve got holes in and have just been used and abused. The storm damage we had over winter just finished them off this year.
“We can only use one of the sides for the juniors and the seniors can’t practice in it now – it can’t take the force of a senior’s ball.”
Mr Herridge said the club has already received a £10,000 grant for the nets from the England and Wales Cricket Board and had saved some funds in recent years to put towards the project.
The £20,000 crowdfunder will ensure there is enough in the put to complete the replacement, and almost a quarter of the money has already been raised.
The club has even put together a promotional video to explain the benefits of the new nets.
Mr Herridge said the rewards on offer had also proved popular:
“They’ve been really well received and we’re asking anybody else who can put in a reward for a pledge to contact us, even if it’s local restaurants or bars for 10% or even 5% off a bill, that we can offer for small amounts – £10, £15, £20.
“We’re all volunteers and we all work full time, so it’s really hard to spend the time going round getting everything done.
“We’re doing some events on evenings to add to the fundraising. One of our players, Mo, is a Methodist minister and he’s going to cook curries for a curry night that we can sell tickets for.
“We’re keen to try and make the events as relaxed as possible so everyone has fun.”
Pannal CC was established in the late 19th century and has been based between Pannal and Burn Bridge, on Burn Bridge Lane, since 1918.
It has been part of the Nidderdale League since 1972, and is also part of the York Senior League and Harrogate Evening League.
Mr Herridge said it costs around £25,000 a year to run the club, which has almost 300 members from age five upwards. They include girls’ teams, who often play against boys and mixed teams because there are so few other girls’ teams in the local league.
As well as membership fees, the club’s covers its costs through sponsorships from local businesses.
To donate to the Netfix crowdfunder, click here.
Masham Cricket Club plans tribute to presidentMasham Cricket Club is raising £5,000 for an electronic scoreboard as a tribute to popular club president Tony Proud, who died this year.
Club chairman Mark Ellis told the Stray Ferret the scoreboard would be a fitting tribute to someone who had cricket in his blood.
The club is raising the money through a crowdfunding campaign.
Mr Ellis said:
“He was president of the cricket club when he died. He was there every Saturday watching the game. He was there to give advice, had a great sense of humour and was loved by everybody. He was a real character.”
Mr Proud was a former woodwork teacher at Bedale secondary school and cricket was his passion. He played for Masham CC for over 30 years with and represented other local clubs.
He also was instrumental in setting up Masham Sports Association, a charitable organisation that supports cricket, bowls, tennis and football in the market town.
Mr Proud died during the height of the Covid pandemic in April and Mr Ellis said the club wanted to do something special for his family.
He added:
“The church at Masham would have been packed out with people who played sport either with or against Tony over the years.”
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Currently, the club has an old-fashioned pull-chord scoreboard and Mr Ellis said an electronic version would “bring the club into the 21st century”.
He is confident the community will come together to raise the target of £5,000. He added:
“I’m sure the community will support what we’re trying to do because he was such a big character. Everybody knew Tony.”
If the club raises £5,000, it will have an official opening of the electronic scoreboard next year, which will double up as a celebration of Mr Proud’s cricketing life.
You can donate to the crowdfunder here.