St Mary Bourne Cricket Club NEW NETS WANTED

Who are we?

St. Mary Bourne Cricket Club was first established in the mid 1800s and has has a rich tapestry of cricketing history.  Two years ago, after COVID-19, the Junior club was revived and now hosts 140 juniors, from ECB All Stars to under 15s, for training on a Friday night.  Last year they played 60 matches against local opposition.  Friday nights has now become a social event for the village providing a BBQ and bar pitch-side for all the community as well as generating increased support and revenue for other facilities such as the community village shop and the local pub.

Community impact

The junior and senior members are all local to the area and in 2022, we managed to get 200 people being coached by SMBCC or playing for SMBCC seniors or juniors. So this is definitely a community project - affecting many local families here.   The club actively promotes cricket for all, with 34% female junior members as well as including several members with additional needs. Older juniors are encouraged to go on to become adult players, young coaches and umpires with the support of Hampshire cricket.

A junior member enjoying his first adult season

The junior club has been supported by local businesses, Ninny's House and Vitacress, who have sponsored clothing and equipment to remove any financial barriers to being part of the club.

The cricket club aims to produce future cricketers but, more importantly, enjoyment, exercise, friends and mental well being.

The pitch is also used by so many different community groups: the local school, a local pre-school nursery, the local croquet club, dog walkers, an annual charity run and of course the junior and senior cricket clubs. 

Why are we crowdfunding?

 As the juniors grow older, bigger and stronger the club needs permanent nets to be able to coach and develop their cricketing skills. Additionally the adult teams is also growing with the momentum inspiring new inexperienced members to join.   Permanent cricket nets are the safest and best way to practice. Every other club of our size we know has nets - we don't. 

Fundraising has already been happening and the Club is 50% on the way to its target.  We hope by crowdfunding with matched funding that we will be able to gain momentum to raise the final funds to finance the project in the short timeframe required.   We need the funds by January so that the nets can be built in time for the 2023 season.

How we’ll spend the money raised

100% of the money raised will go towards the permanent nets project. We need an additional £20,000 to fund the new permanent nets. Here is an image of the permanent nets that we are aspiring to build.

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this exciting 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. We are offering local business Sponsorship options - please contact [email protected]

4. Create a fundraiser of your own. Use the button on our page to get started. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!