Warwickshire Cricket Board is pleased to announce the first LGBTQ+ Cricket Festival will take place at Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club on Sunday 11th June, 2023. The Cricket Board have worked closely over the winter months with the Birmingham Unicorns Cricket Club and Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club to put together the framework for the days cricket.
The format will see six counties represented on the day, namely Warwickshire, Middlesex (courtesy of Graces CC), Leicestershire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire and Gloucestershire in two groups of three. Each group will see all teams playing each other in a T10 8-a-side format with play offs at the conclusion to crown the winners. Games will get under way at 11am and entry is free for all. Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club have been instrumental in the planning of events and there will be music, bar, food and a raffle throughout the festival.
Richard Evans of the Warwickshire Cricket Board commented, “We have supported Birmingham Unicorns since their formation both at Warwickshire Board and Warwickshire Club level. They are a fantastically well run club and so thoughts moved to how we could help develop the LGBTQ+ profile within cricket. Hopefully this festival will be the start of other LGBTQ+ sides across the competing counties and the festival can become embedded in the cricketing calendar in future years.”
Nick Baker the Chairman of Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club added, “We are extremely proud of being an inclusive club here at Sutton Coldfield and when approached about hosting the festival we were more than happy to say yes. The committee have been fully committed to ensuring that the day is a fantastic celebration of cricket and championing LGBTQ+ sport.”
“At the Unicorns we have been grateful for all the support we have received from Warwickshire since we were established. This festival is the culmination of many discussions and a huge amount of work and we look forward to taking part in what will be a very unique showcasing of LGBTQ+ participation in cricket”, Lachlan Smith, the founder of the Birmingham Unicorns CC added.
For any further enquiries please contact Richard Evans at the Warwickshire Cricket Board at [email protected]
