East Grinstead
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SIP: Regarding your facility, are you happy with what you
currently have? Are you keen to expand/improve in any
areas?
GB: Being part of a very large Sports Club we have little
say in the running of the pavilion. However, we are totally
responsible for our two cricket pitches. At the end of last season
we re-laid the squares removing the top 40mm, replacing with
Surrey Loam and re-seeding at a cost of £10,000 all raised
through grants, donations and fundraising. This has proved
extremely successful but was helped by a very supportive
winter enabling the grass to develop and giving plenty of time
for rolling early in the year.
The outfield has a tendency to flood/puddle following
heavy rain. After the 2016 season we discovered the drains
fractured on the eastern side of the outfield which suffered
badly with flooding. These were repaired and jet flushed which
appears to have been successful as we have not experienced
any problems this season. It is planned to install new drains
in the western side as soon as sufficient funds are available,
foreseen in the next 12 months.
SIP: What do you believe could be some of the biggest
challenges the club may face in the next 5 years?
GB: Keeping up the standards to meet premier league
requirements, we cannot stand still and facilitating almost 100
matches per season on the main ground puts immense pressure
on the groundsman and more importantly the volunteers who
assist and make sure everything is in place for a match.
There is a lot of wear and tear on the pitches and an
immense amount of effort has to be put in just to stand still.
Like all clubs we have a loyal band of volunteers who could
now be classified in the older range, but we are always seeking
others following on to give the same commitment.
What will be the format of club cricket in five years’
time? If this takes the form of T/20 matches possibly played
in midweek we will have a problem as a large percentage of
our seniors commute daily to London which means they will
not get back in time to participate in a match. Sussex Cricket
is presently consulting on a forward plan, which we sincerely
hope that East Grinstead Cricket Club will be able to contribute
at the forefront of the changes moving forward.
It is impossible to show a profit from Community sport and
cricket falls into that category. We are a not for profit club but
would like to have a healthy sinking fund to ensure we can
replace/improve our facilities for future generations. This will
be a major challenge in the next five years unless some of the
riches at the very top end of the game can begin to cascade
down in greater quantities.
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SIP: What are the clubs ambitions for the next 5 years?
GB: More of the same; to remain financially stable in a
period of increasing costs, to enable us to continue to provide
facilities for the community whilst continuing to compete at
the very top of the league structures in Sussex/Surrey.
At this very moment the first team is third in the Premier
League, one of four teams within nine points of the leaders and
are in the draw for the last 16 of the national Royal London Cup.
We have already won the county T20 competition at both first
and second team level in 2015, yet EGCC has never been better
than Sussex Premier League runners-up finishing a frustrating
four points behind the champions in 2015. It would be fitting
for Will Adkin and his team to finally win the Sussex Premier
League this season, they have put themselves in pole position
and I very much hope they can complete the job. They deserve
the title of champions for the consistently high standard of
cricket they have played over the last few years with a young
side mainly consisting of our locally developed talent.
The committee’s challenge is to continue to raise funds
to provide this facility. We are currently supported by one
good sponsor plus many generous secondary boundary board
sponsors and advertisers around the ground, through our
website as well as in our Fixture Card and Newsletters. It is
our continuing aim to add to this list to enable us to prepare
for any eventuality, the proverbial rainy day- the curse of any
level of cricket.