Bircham is a thriving village cricket club but our nets are dangerous. Please help us complete our fundraising campaign to replace them!
by [email protected] in King's Lynn, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Extra money will help secure the future of the club as our running costs are always increasing. We will be able to keep the membership free, match fees as low as possible, and purchase kit for our young players and training equipment such as a catching cradle and net.
Bircham Cricket Club was founded in 1888 and has been active ever since. In recent years we have focussed our efforts on making the club accessible and welcoming to everyone and now have Clubmark accreditation as a family friendly club.
We offer anyone of any age the opportunity to play and enjoy cricket. We do not charge an annual membership fee and can loan kit to anyone just getting started.
We currently have 118 members playing in one or more of our teams. 14 of the regular 1st and 2nd XI team players came through our youth section. 4 players from the youth section played their first 1st XI game last year. 5 juniors played in at least half of the 2nd XI games last year. Last year, one woman played twice in the 1st XI and 22 women and girls have been training through the winter.
We have 78 youth members. Five of our youth players have been selected for the Norfolk county 2024 squads at U11,12,13,14 and 18 levels. Three have passed trials and been accepted onto the MCC Foundation Norwich hub for state-educated young cricketers.
Ebony Palmer is a good example of our long-term commitment to youth development. She has been playing at the Club since she was little and in 2023 was awarded Norfolk Young Coach of the Year. She donated her prize money to buy cricket balls for the youth section.
We recently built a new pavilion that has separate facilities for women and an accessible toilet. It is a great venue for children's parties!
Our pitches are top quality. In 2023 we hosted a youth county match between Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and received high praise for our pitch, facilities and the welcome we gave our visitors.
We have one major weakness: our practice nets are old and dangerous. They cannot be used for coaching and this severely limits the number of people who can practice during a training session.
The surface of the old nets is solid concrete covered with artificial grass matting. It is very worn and hard, so the bounce of the cricket ball is erratic. Balls can hit the edge and bounce dangerously. The nets are narrow, making it difficult to play proper shots.
The nets are orientated east-west. During evening practice sessions, the batter faces directly into the sun. The England and Wales Cricket Board only approves north-south orientated nets.
The netting is only 7 m long, meaning balls can leave one net and cross into the path of people using the other net. At one training session, a parent was hit by a ball from the adjacent net. The impact was such that he collapsed to the ground and his shoulder swelled up. The ball could have hit him on the side of the head and caused very serious injury. When this happened we knew something had to be done.
The money raised will pay for removing the old nets and concrete base and installing professional standard twin-lane nets with high quality netting, coaching lines in one lane and a 30 m carpet without any seams - perfect for training our youngsters, women and men.
The new nets will be in one corner of the public playing field in Great Bircham. They will be available for anyone to use at anytime.
"The Norfolk Cricket Board would strongly support the installation of new Artificial Nets at Bircham Cricket Club. Once installed, the nets are relatively low maintenance and should serve the members/community for over 15 years."
Lewis Denmark. Norfolk Cricket Board Ltd Development Director.
There has been a steady decline in village cricket in Norfolk over recent decades. Many clubs have amalgamated or closed down completely. Neither of the nearby towns of King’s Lynn or Hunstanton has its own club and there are few good cricket facilities in the area. Bircham is conveniently located to serve the wider community of North-West Norfolk and children and adults come from many surrounding villages to play.
"Villages with robust cricket teams are those with a robust community spirit and a general air of self-belief that is lacking where a team cannot be maintained. I have no hesitation in giving my support to this well thought-out initiative."
Andrew Jamieson. Norfolk County Councillor
New nets of professional standard do not come cheap. The best of three competitive quotes was £48,000 including VAT. £2,000 has to be added for the costs of planning permission and removing the old nets and returning the area to grass.
We have been very successful in raising money from the local Cricket Board, Borough and Parish Councils, our landlord (the Sandringham Estate), as well as club members and friends. So far, we have raised £40,000. A gap of £10,000 remains.
This may sound a lot but if we can raise £6,000 from at least 50 unique supporters, Sport England will add the remaining £4,000!
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target:
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay because momentum is key to our success! Every little really does help.
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages. The more people we reach, the more support we will get. Remember, we need at least 50 unique supporters.
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. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details, just a fun idea!
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.