couple of hours a day,” says hardworking Tim, for whom it is plainly a labour of love. Together with another Much Wenlock CC enthusiast, Keith Banks, they became the club’s groundsmen.


The club put together a five year plan and approached the English Cricket Board (ECB) and other funding agencies for help. Having played football for Wellington Town, and been good enough to have had a trial for Wolves, Tim had plenty of friends in the sporting world he could call on for advice. Their early aims were to:


• build a new sports pavilion


• improve the wickets and invest in new machinery


• achieve Club Mark accreditation


• establish a youth section and extend coaching into local schools


• increase the number of teams


Now, five years later, the world of Much Wenlock cricket has changed immeasurably. The club has:


Tim Pinches and Keith Banks with their new Allett C24


• permission for a new two- tier pavilion


• got a long term agreement


with the local council, as owners of the field, that the club are its principle user/occupier


• taken on full responsibility of all grounds maintenance issues


• completed a playing surface review with Shropshire County Cricket Board resulting in a good report


• achieved sponsorship for two new site screens costing £1,500; three raised covers costing £8,000 and secured an award from the ECB of £3,500 to buy a new dedicated cricket mower


• achieved Club Mark status and now employ an overseas player/coach


The club now runs three cricket teams. Their coaching extends all over the area, with ECB accredited members coaching at six local primary feeder schools and the adjacent secondary school. They have attracted one hundred and twenty new youth players to join the club. Sunday morning sees a two- hour coaching session in their nets, and there are plans to start a girls team. The club also hosts an annual Kwik


98


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