Outfield Drainage

Who are we?

Beckwithshaw Cricket Club was founded in 1885, since then we have provided amateur cricket to the local community, currently fielding 3 senior cricket teams, junior teams from ages 7-18 and a women's soft ball team.

We are looking to raise £15,000 to pay for drainage for our outfield, with a total estimated cost of £17,800.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We cannot go another season with such poorly draining facilities... 

This project aims to improve the cricketing surface and rectify the significant outfield drainage issues we have faced in recent years. This year, with the exceedingly wet weather, we had a large number of matches cancelled due to the ground conditions being too wet, causing huge disruption to our fixture schedule and preventing us from using the playing facilities well into the season.

The most profound impact has been on our junior members, who's season runs earlier in the year - leading to a large proportion of their matches having to be cancelled. It has also impacted our senior sides, where we are often the last club in our leagues to play a home game due to a waterlogged outfield.

With the wetter winters and more unpredictable climate in recent years, our outfield is taking longer to dry out, causing huge delays to the start of season groundworks. In the past two seasons we have had to wait until nearly mid May before we have been able to have any cricket played in Beckwithshaw, instead of the usual early April season start. With adequate drainage we hope to be able to play more cricket in the early season and improve the facilities we currently have.

Sport England have pledged a donation of £7,500, contingent upon supporters of Beckwithshaw Cricket Club raising the another £7,500. Every single donation is appreciated and helps us get to our target. 

How we’ll spend the money raised

All money raised from this crowdfunding campaign will be put towards paying a contractor to install drains through the outfield. Drains will be spaced at 10m intervals and improve the drainage of the outfield and square significantly throughout the winter months - so that work can start on the ground earlier in the year. This will significantly improve the condition of the outfield, allowing cricket to take place earlier in the season. 

Community Impact

With better outfield drainage and improved facilities, the club will be able to run more cricket matches and improve its financial sustainability. We will also be well positioned in the local community to provide more cricketing opportunities for our junior members in the early season and late season. With large developments in the local area planned, we as a club need to be able to provide good quality facilities to manage increased footfall in future years and for future generations. 

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!