Brentwood Cricket Club - Net Extension

Who are we?

Brentwood Cricket Club is a growing community cricket club, close to the heart of Brentwood, proudly supporting 7 senior teams, 17 junior teams and a Women's Soft Ball team. Our commitment to inclusivity and community engagement is unwavering and we have seen strong growth in member numbers over recent years.. However, our current practice facility, in use for over 15 years, no longer meets the standards required or capacity for developing the cricket skills for all our players.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We need to double the size of our current net facility to meet the demand of our increased membership numbers and their desire to improve their bowling and batting skills. The new facility will be a 4 lane enclosed facility constructed to England Cricket Board (ECB) guidelines and will allow practice sessions to be shared between age groups more easily on our busy youth and adult training nights throughout the season.

We're reaching out to our community, supporters, and cricket enthusiasts to help us raise £50,000, which will help us complete our exciting new initiative - The Net Extension.  This project aims to construct a state-of-the-art practice facility for our players, supporters, and the wider community.

Last season through the main summer months there were games on most evenings and at weekend making it more difficult for enough genuine practice sessions to go around.

The Net Project will open up new opportunities for further development in our women’s and girls teams as well as our junior and men's teams.  It will also support teams in Essex School and Veterans matches.  

How will your contribution make a difference?

By contributing to "The Net Extension Fund," you'll be supporting the development of a facility that will:

Empower Women's and Girls' Teams: Create new opportunities for the growth and development of our women's and girls' teams, fostering inclusivity and equality in cricket.

Boost Junior and Men's Teams: Provide a dedicated space for the continuous improvement of our junior and men's teams, allowing more teams to practice in the nets during youth training on Friday and Tuesday nights.  It will also allow all the adult teams to practice together on a Wednesday night, supporting improved skills development and team spirit across the club.  We have a strong record of bringing our youth players into the adult teams which we intend to continue!

How we’ll spend the money raised

All funding raised will be spent on the build of the new facility, which is planned for the winter of 2024/25, to minimise impact on the playing season.  The contractor is fully ECB approved and will deliver a facility requiring very little ongoing maintenance.  We will be adding to the clubhouse side of the exisitng nets to minimise impact to the trees behind and on our fantastic playing surface at the Old County Ground.

How you can play your part

Whether on the field or off it, there is much to do and lots of ways to help. Donating funds, supporting fundraising initiatives, sponsorship, identifying if your employer offers matched funding or helping to arrange fundraisining activities, there's something for anyone who is willing to help.  We have already started fundraising with our great Quiz night and secondhand sale at the start of the season, raising over £3000!

Your support is crucial in making The Net Extension a reality, there are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!  Please don't forget to Gift Aid your donation so we can get an extra 25% from the Tax Man, every little helps..

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know

5. Sponsorship Opportunities. If you are a local business who would like to sponsor one of our teams or get a sponsor board at our ground, please do get in touch.  We have a range of very reasonable opportunities, with high visibility among our members and visitors to the Old County Ground.

Thanks in advance for your support!