Improve the playing experience at the Selsley Cricket Club ground mainly through restoration works and maintenance of the playing surface
by Selsley Cricket in Stroud, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Most likely the other 4 wickets on the square. But, if this fundraising goes nuts we could:
There are certainly many things we could do with any extra money.
Selsley Cricket Club is a community club powered by volunteers, whose home ground is located along Selsley Hill near Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. It is known as “a very pleasant place to play cricket” as the ground is set on a rural hill side overlooking the Stroud valleys and Severn estuary gateway. When the evening summer sun is shining it really is one of the most beautiful settings to play village cricket.
The Club has existed since around 1820, first playing on the Selsley Hill ground in 1886. Cricket has been played almost continually ever since and now operates as a ‘charity’ club for ‘friendly’ (rather than ‘league’) cricket to the traditional laws of the game and ‘pub’ cricket. Just look at that view.
‘Friendly’ and ‘Pub’ cricket, whether as a 40 or 30 over, 20/20 or newer hundred format, is played mainly on weekday evenings or Sunday afternoons, providing a valuable opportunity for those of us who:
As well as a mixture of cricketing ability and age, our players and volunteers come from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds. But, we are more than just a cricket club. We are part of our local community and offer opportunities to socialise, reduce isolation, and for inter-generational engagement. Even visitors to the area have commented on our ground and game: https://slownomads.phoosh.net/cricket-the-gentlemans-game/
Why are we crowdfunding?
Our main goal is to encourage people to play cricket using our unique ground and facilities. In recent times, this has been achieved alongside low cost to those playing the game in order to promote participation and limit barriers to entry.
The pandemic affected the Club with reduced playing opportunities and income generation from matches. However, the aftermath of the pandemic has had a worse effect as some local teams/grounds have stopped playing altogether whilst demands on the Selsley Cricket Club has increased as we continue to offer valuable playing opportunities. Trying to meet our goal of participation at low cost has become challenging without increasing the burden on players whilst we need to restore and improve the playing surface.
The playing surface at Selsley can at times be unplayable, near unsafe and dangerous, even at slow bowling speeds, with players, regardless of age or experience, struggling. Frankly, it can be unfair how much the pitch influences a match result.
After COVID, ground preparation volunteers were lost, incurring extra costs. To make matters worse, 2023's adverse and extended wet weather has resulted in many games being abandoned whilst still incurring the associated costs of preparation leaving little available to invest in maintenance and improvements. This has been compounded further by a number of ground equipment repair bills throughout this year. We are confident with the right equipment and funding we can return the pitch to being a good playing surface and inspire all of our volunteers.
Therefore, we have created this fundraising project to improve the playing conditions at Selsley Cricket Club ground so that we can continue to aim for our goal serving both our local and the Cricket communities.
How we’ll spend the money raised
To improve the playability of the square and wickets, to make them a more predictable and fairer surface for the batter, bowler and wicket keeper (and umpire for that matter), thus increasing enjoyment of the game and improving player safety and welfare, we shall:
1) Purchase, spread and level cricket loam (top dressing) to the cricket square, targeting 6 of the possible 10 wickets on the square. This operation also requires preparation of the surface by scarification and then reseeding. To do this well will be around £1300 of external specialist contactor costs, or we could control some of this costs utilising volunteers with materials and hired equipment.
2) Purchase a motorised roller for the square to allow for regular compression of playing surfaces. Some funds would be allocated to the upkeep or restoration of this equipment and to ensure we can keep it secure at the ground. 'The world is your oyster' with this one. To skimp it would be circa £600 with some coercing of members to pick it up, £3000 would likely be a very shiny pedestrian roller. We want reliable, serviceable and functioning, not bells and whistles, to see us through, so around £1600-£2000 up front should get us there for 2024 'and beyond'.
3) Assign funds for ongoing repair and servicing of ground equipment (machines, cover, etc) to ensure fixtures can be played with limited disruption in the event of breakdown. A buffer of £500 would be really handy to work with.
4) Procure other necessary ground maintenance equipment, materials and substances such as a proper wicket brush and rake. We've budgeted £700 for extra hand tools and materials.
We have estimated the costs of this but, in the event of availability of spare funds from prudent sourcing, utilisation of volunteers or successful fundraising, we may be able to:
Such works may go on until the end of 2024.
During this fundraiser, we will also be trying to generate donations and funds through our own activities to contribute directly to this campaign.
Community impact
Sometimes three cricket matches can be scheduled for a mid-summer week. In addition to local players and supporters, AWAY teams come from across the county and as far away as Bristol. We estimate over 500 visits are made to the ground each season purely for playing cricket. This excludes spectators (very young to much older) and all the recreational visits made to the ground. Therefore, we believe our local community widely benefits from cricket being played in Selsley, such as in custom to our nearby businesses and services.
Additionally, the Club provides an organisation for locals to meet and liaise. The ground itself is a rare amenity in the local setting as Selsley has few recreational facilities. Many residents make use of the ground for activities such as walking and games. Even paragliders and hot air balloons have been known to drop in….
Therefore we have created this fundraising project to not only improve the playing facilities at Selsley Cricket Club ground but to continue to provide many social, community and economic benefits to the network of players, supporters, associated groups, local businesses and organisations around us.
We are also fundraisers ourselves. Pride of place in our recent fixtures was the 2022 fundraising match for those displaced and affected by flooding in Pakistan. We hosted a charity match with a Bristol based team and raised over £1000 to contribute to the relief effort. We planned a rematch for 2023 but that pesky weather thwarted our efforts, unfortunately at cost, for both the original date and a rearranged fixture. We have higher hopes for 2024.
So please donate what you can or help us convince others to contribute.
If you are a UK tax payer, don't forget to tick GIFT AID when you donate!
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!
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. 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.