Natwest Cricketforce Success!!

Whittington Cricket Club having been awarded Staffordshire Cricket's Showcase Club 2011, played host to special guests Dennis Amiss, ECB Deputy Chairman and England Women's and Staffordshire all-rounder Danielle Wyatt at the weekend as the club's exciting NatWest CricketForce plans got underway. Swapping bats and balls for paintbrushes and spades, the pair were joined by around 200 volunteers, which included players, members of the local community and 15 members of staff from NatWest. Michael Fabricant, M.P. for Lichfield, also came along to give his support for the event.

Having recently moved to a brand new site on Vicarage Lane, a huge amount of work needed to be completed at Whittington Cricket Club, including the development of a brand new pavilion. Bringing the community together students from Burton College are soon to start work on building work which is set to be completed in 2012.

Club Vice Chairman and Project Leader, Richard Abell, stressed just how an important event for the club this was. He said: “It's a massive challenge for a club to move to a new ground and start from scratch but with the help of NatWest CricketForce and the ECB the project is becoming a reality. I am amazed at the number of people who care about their local club and would like to thank everybody involved for their fantastic efforts. For those who missed out on the weekend, there is still plenty of work ahead of us so we welcome the continued support of the local community and businesses who would like to get involved.”

A generous team from Evans Paving Services joined in the hard work at Whittington CC by laying paviors donated by Brett Landscaping products for a new car park, along with a team from Wickes who joined an army of volunteers setting about the essential work of assembling sight screens and erecting picket fencing and nets.

As part of the event Stuart Canvas Ltd donated a flat sheet cover for the square and Andy Grice, on behalf of Staffordshire Cricket, handed over a T.V. for use in the pavilion when completed.

Dennis Amiss, Whittington Cricket Club Patron and ECB Vice Chairman said: “The ECB is excited about NatWest CricketForce. To see a community come together as much as it did at Whittington is a very positive thing for cricket as a whole and I hope that people take their efforts further and continue to help out.”

Whittington CC NatWest Cricket Force Showcase weekend 2011, March 19th and 20th

We are now just 2 days away from the Natwest Cricket-force weekend, having been selected as the Showcase club for Staffordshire. Volunteers have been coming forward, and we now expect to see over 100 Whitt CC players, supporters, family and friends over the course of the 2 days. ECB representatives will also be present, as will current female England International cricketer Danielle Wyatt, and our patron Dennis Amiss. We would love to see more even if you drop by for an hour or so show support. Activities taking place over the weekend include :

Building of picket-fence around ground (2000 pickets also need painting!!)

Stone collecting off the new outfield

Net and Sightscreen maintenance

Benches built and put around ground

If you can help or simply wish to provide materials for the weekend the following would be greatly recieved :

Paint brushes/kettles

buckets

small pointed trowel/implement for stone picking

Wheelbarrows

Hammers

Spades/Shovels

Whether arriving on foot or by car (if so please park in The Hospice car park next to the new pitch) please register in The Marquee where you'll be supplied with your CricketForce tee shirt (first come first served), registered and then pointed in the right direction!

We look forward to seeing you!

Rugby Club Tour Success

3 members of Whittington Cricket Club successfully completed a trip around the 25 UK based Rugby league and Union clubs as a fundraiser for the club at the weekend, successfully raising nearly £500.

Starting Friday morning at 5.30am, they finished at 5pm Sunday evening, visiting places from everywhere from Wakefield, Exeter, Newcastle and Twickenham. The hospitality shown from many of the clubs was first class, allowing alot of pictures to be taken on the pitch. Some outside of working hours were missed out on, but snaps still taken.

Anyone who hasnt sponsorsed the cause can still do so by speaking to AC, TT or The Talker. We will also have a "Guess the Mileage" Game running next weekend at the Showcase weekend, with the nearest guess winning a cash prize!!

Well done to the 3 lads involved.