Sandbach Cricket Club, Making A Difference

WE ARE MORE THAN 'JUST' A CRICKET CLUB

Sandbach Cricket Club has been at the heart of the local community since 1886 and offers so much more than cricket. 

As well as supporting over 150 local people to play cricket including over 100 children and young people, we believe that as a community sports club we must also contribute to making Sandbach a great place for everyone to live. As a result since moving to our current site off Hind Heath Road, we have worked hard to ensure that the club is available for and well used by the entire community. 

Not only can local people play cricket or come down and enjoy a drink and a chat whilst watching a game on a sunny afternoon, but the club is also frequently used by a wide range of local community groups.

Community activity at the club includes a popular regular special needs disco, over 60's Tai Ch, hosting events for other local sports clubs, dance classes, a Zumba class, Sandbach Yoga Group, a street theatre group, Brownies and Guides, a tap-dancing group, two mothers and tots groups, and use as a venue for engagement parties, family events and other celebrations. 

We also host frequent live music events and run a hugely popular bonfire night celebration each year, attended by over 1,500 people.

We are also doing our bit to support businesses in Sandbach by hosting a popular local business networking group! 

The club has gained clubmark accreditation demonstrating that the club is well run and meets ECB standards.

All of this is made possible through the hard work of a team of over thirty volunteers who give up their time free of charge week in week out to sustain the club, coach our players and keep the site in the best possible condition. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Like many sports clubs and community organisations, the COVID-19 Pandemic brought with it huge challenges for the club, along with long periods of closure and a massive drop in our income. We have now successfully navigated these challenges and are working hard to emerge from the pandemic even stronger.

This has seen significant investment being made by the club in new machinery and improvements to help improve the look of our facilities and ongoing work to enhance some of our internal spaces. There are however a couple of key projects that we have been unable to take forward at present due to lack of funding. The most important of these is replacing our worn-out cricket nets, vital training facilities for our members and especially our juniors. This Crowdfunder is our way of asking the people of Sandbach and the surrounding area for your help.

WE ARE PART OF SANDBACH'S HISTORY

Initially formed in 1886 Sandbach Cricket Club is a long-standing part of the local landscape and has touched almost everyone living in the area in some way, be that to play cricket or visit the club for another reason. 

The club was initially located on Crewe Road moving after about 100 years to the town centre off Welles Street and later moving to its current site off Hind Heath Road. 

Since the club was formed many local families have been associated with us, be that due to children, parents, grandparents and even great grandparents playing cricket or becoming involved with the club in some other way. In fact, to celebrate this we are currently working to compile a gallery of historic photos of local people playing with or at the club's sites since it was first formed in 1886.

The two photos below are from Mr Chris Wardles membership back in 1892, including details of the club's leadership at that time. Do you recognise any of the families? are they still local?

WE ARE A CLUB FOR THE TOWN TO BE PROUD OF!

Not only does the club provide some really good facilities for the town but From a cricketing perspective, we have both seniors and junior sections, making up in 4 senior teams and 10 junior teams. We play in 6 senior and 25 junior competitions each year and our young people receive coaching on Friday evenings throughout the summer. Our junior section in particular has grown in recent years due to successful seasons including the Cheshire Cup at under 11's and under 17's. This year our first team will represent Sandbach by entering the First division of the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League which will be the highest league the club has ever reached.

HOW YOU CAN HELP?

Some of our cricket facilities now need urgent attention if the club is to continue to support local people and we are turning to the community to ask for your help. 

Our practice nets are a vital training area that gets used most days from April to September, providing a vital area for practice and coaching, especially for our juniors.  Unfortunately, as can be seen from the photos below they are now at the end of their useful life and urgently need replacing. so far the club has been able to raise £15,000 towards this but we are asking local people if they can help us raise the £10,000-15,000 remaining which is required to complete this vital project. 

By supporting our Crowdfunder you can receive one of the fantastic rewards shown on the right of this page and be safe in the knowledge that your contribution will help secure the future of a vital part of Sandbach's community infrastructure. 

Our current cricket nets

FANTASTIC AND UNIQUE REWARDS

We really need your help, but we also want to make sure that our crowdfunding campaign is fun. You can make a simple donation via the button at the top right-hand side of this page. You can also choose to take up one of our unique rewards. In exchange for a set donation, our rewards offer an exciting range of items and experiences. 

Our rewards are all listed on the right-hand side of this page. Why not check them out? we think they are amazing!