Who are we?
East Huntspill Cricket Club are a growing village club in the heart of Somerset.
The club boasts 7 teams consisting of 2 x Senior Saturday teams playing in the West Somerset Cricket League. 1 x Senior Sunday T20 team playing in the Somerset T20 Sunday League. 1 x Senior Midweek T20 team playing in the Weston & District Midweek Cricket League. We also have 2 x Junior teams entered in the U11's and U13's age groups in the Taunton & District Youth Cricket League. This year (2025) is also the first year we have put out a Womens Softball team who will be playing in the Somerset Womens & Girls Competition/League.
We are a very progressive club with a hugely dedicated committee/workforce. We are always looking to improve facilities and make the club a better place. Whether that be for the player, supporter or any member of the public who happens to call in.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We are in desperate need of purchasing an additional mobile batting net to enable us to run more structured training sessions for both Senior Men, Senior Women and Junior training.
The club currently only has one mobile batting net and no permanent net setup. The club has gone from strength to strength and is continually growing in member numbers. This has started to cause us massive issues with training as we do not have the facilities to facilitate the growth in numbers and additional teams the club has created.
Our current single mobile batting net is also very tired and old and is in urgent need of a replacement netting as there are many ripped sections that simply do not contain the ball.
The club recognises the need for a permanent fixed net setup and last year we in the process of obtaining a grant for £45k for a double lane setup. Unfortunately as we were nearing the end of our application, the organisation giving out the grants, pulled all funding as there was no money left to offer.
A permanent fixed net setup is still something that we are pursuing, but we know this is going to be a few years away yet. Hence the immediate need for an additional mobile batting net.
The club are very good at fundraising all year round, and under normal circumstances would be able to purchase this sort of equipment through direct club funds. Unfortunately coming into the season from the winter break, club fund raising events through the winter are not as well supported as they are through the summer. This combined with inflated club running costs and massive unjustified insurance cost increases, mean the club are not in a position to purchase themselves.
If you're applying for extra funding, this is a good place to demonstrate why your project is eligible so refer back to the criteria to help complete this section
How we’ll spend the money raised
We would like to purchase a brand new mobile batting net as well as a replacement netting for our existing mobile batting net.
An example of what we envisage purchasing below:
Community impact
The club is big part of our local community and a place to meet for many in the evenings and weekend afternoons. Many local villagers and local holiday makers regularly visit the club and stop for a drink or two.
Cricket is however the main priority for the club, as if it wasn't for the cricket the club and meeting place for many wouldn't exist. We need these additional facilities (mobile batting net) to enable the cricket to be a success. If the cricket continues to be a success the club continues to be a success and will hopefully remain open to all for a very long time.
How you can play your part
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!