Haverhill Cricket Club - Outdoor Net Refurbishment

Founded in 1861, Haverhill Cricket Club has been a major part of the town for many years. Cricketers and non-cricketers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to come along to watch or take part, in any capacity they feel they can contribute.

Our junior section boasts over 100 children across all age ranges, comprising 3 competitive teams in the CYCA league. 

Our Ladies/girls cricket team is going from strength to strength and are aiming for their first win in 2024. 

We also have 3 senior Saturday teams, a senior Sunday team and a senior mid-week team. 

Our current nets have been excellent over the last 10 years but are now looking old and tired. They have also been hit this winter by a tree falling on them. 

Having only two nets for the number of players we have, is not feasible for the future growth of the club or the local community. We already have issues with net congestion (i.e. too many players and not enough nets) and this significantly impacts our players ability to practice and develop. This is especially an issue on Friday’s Youth training evenings.

The Club has started a 2-phase ambitious project, with the intention of refurbishing the existing two-lane net at the top of the ground and then, when funds permit erecting a new 4 lane net on the waste ground, to the left of the bowling green.

As a small, community focused club we do not have the necessary funds to complete the work and as such we need your help and support in donating towards the project.

We are planning a series of events to help raise awareness and accelerate fundraising with the aim to refurb the existing nets asap, then raise further funding over the next couple of years for a new 4 lane net. This will require broad support from members, the local community and businesses, to succeed in achieving our target.

How we will spend the money:

Stage 1: Our initial £15,000 target will be sufficient to enable us to refurbish the existing nets, enabling us to continue to provide a net facility for the next couple of years. However, with only two lanes available we are rapidly reaching capacity required to support the growth in our Junior/ladies section and the increased number of senior league teams we are now fielding. 

Stage 2: Our second bigger £60,000 target will be sufficient to completely change the ability of the club to provide cricket to a much greater audience. This will follow on from the outstanding ground works already completed to clear the area, which has been much overgrown and neglected for years.

With many more junior and senior members we need to upgrade to four lanes so that every player can get the net practice time they need to develop and improve.

We need to now level the ground and remove all the old roots, tree stumps and other debris which has built up over the years. Once removed, this area will then be grass seeded whilst we raise the money required for the 4 lane nets to be erected.

As I am sure you are aware, such a development does not come cheap and that’s where you come in! Your support in getting involved, sharing details of the initiatives with those inside and outside the club and championing the cause would be much appreciated.