Weybridge Vandals Cricket Centenary Nets Project

Aim: We are raising funds for a two lane fixed net system at Weybridge Vandals, ready for the cricket club's centenary season!

Who are we?

Weybridge Vandals Cricket Club is the cricket section of Weybridge Vandals, a multi-Sports club that offers rugby, netball and cricket from our wonderful home on Desborough Island, just off Walton Lane between Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge (KT12).

The cricket club was formed in 1924, so our centenary year is rapidly approaching.  The club currently has multiple adult and junior teams; a normal week in the season will see three adult teams playing on Saturday, another playing on Sunday, three junior teams competing in the Surrey leagues as well as boys and girls from 5-11 participating in All Stars and Dynamos - the nationwide introductory cricket programs.  In addition we play in mixed adults/colts tournaments such as the Surrey Trust League and T20 competitions including the Surrey Slam, and of course we run club training nights.  

As part of our development plan we have introduced dedicated women's (16+) and girl's cricket (12-16) in the 2023 season. 

Community impact

Weybridge Vandals Cricket Club offers opportunity for players of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to come and participate in healthy activities throughout the summer.  We have a very diverse player base from the surrounding area and are very focused on ensuring that we continue to offer cricket for all, not only cricket for the best.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We have a great ground, one of the very few in the area with two cricket squares side by side.  However, whilst we have been able to invest in some training facilities and an improved pavilion in recent years, we are missing a fixed net training facility.  This would allow us to greatly increase our capacity (hugely constrained at present) and enhance the frequency and quality of training we can offer.  It will give a fantastic facility for our youth section especially and allow many more young people to learn and enjoy the wonderful game of cricket.

Such facilities do come at a cost and we need to raise a total of £55,000 to deliver the project.  Whilst we are running a variety of fund-raising events and have made a good start, there's still a long way to go and this crowdfunding is a vital component of achieving our goal of installing the nets in the 2023 season.  

How we’ll spend the money raised

Very simply, all the money raised will go towards the installation of a two lane, fixed nets system by a qualified England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approved contractor, bringing a valuable training facility to the club for decades to come.  

Some example pictures are shown above, as shown this will be a lot better, safer and more efficient for training than the mobile nets which have to be moved out onto our single piece of astroturf for each training session.

How our project will be United by Birmingham 2022

We are delighted to be able to say that this project has received support from the United by Birmingham 2022 initiative, which builds upon the great success of the Commonwealth games in 2022 and which is supporting community support iniatives through the Sport England Place and Spaces fund.  They have agreed to provide matching funding to help us deliver this great project which will provide opportunity for many more people to enjoy the wonderful sport of cricket and which will help us engage many more young people with the sport we hope they will continue to play throughout their lives.

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 contribution. 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, e.g. if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. If you can help please contact us through the link above and we will give you a shout out!

4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, 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!