Warwickshire CCC and the Warwickshire Cricket Board have a shared aim to engage with and support local communities across the county. Whilst the WCB focus is primarily on the recreational game, and that of the county club on the professional game, there are numerous occasions during the year when the two organisations work together. One such occasion was the recent Bears’ Roadshow at Coventry & North Warwickshire CC (CNWCC) on Tuesday 9th August, when the Bears squad played a combined Warwickshire County Cricket League team. Prior to the match, WCB coaches had supported CNWCC coaches in delivering a number of coaching sessions for local children. There was also time before the match for the children to meet and have photos with the Bears players – and of course Hugh Bear. A special mention goes to Hugh Bear for his unrelenting furry exuberance on an extremely hot day!
Bears players coaching in the community
Prior to the match, Bears players threw themselves into a variety of cricket activities running across the ground. Coaching alongside WCB and local coaches, the Bears supported the following sessions,
- CNWCC junior players, who were split into two groups – the older children in the nets and the younger ones playing practice matches on the main pitch.
- Over 30 local children who were attending a HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) camp run in conjunction with Coventry City Council. Site Operations Director Hazel Cranston explained more about the camp. “This is the second year we have run this camp here – providing activities and a nutritious meal for local children who receive Free School Meals during termtime.”
WCB’s Andy Turnbull was coordinating the WCB coaching group for the HAF Camp, also including colleagues Martyn Collis, Gabby Basketter, Nigel Perry Ogden and George Deely Graham. “Considering how hot it is today,” Andy said afterwards, “the children have been amazing. They have been very quick to listen and learn, which is particularly impressive as most of them haven’t played much cricket before. The children have had a chance to play all parts of the game during the session – we’ve covered bowling, throwing, catching and batting. The Bears players who joined our session were fantastic and really encouraged the children. A big thank you to Olly Hannon-Dalby, Ethan Brookes, Liam Norwell and Hamza Shaikh - the Bears players who came and joined our group.”
Liam Norwell enjoyed the session and commented afterwards, “It’s great to see so many children from different backgrounds here, all enjoying playing cricket. This is the sort of environment I started playing cricket in, so I’m enjoying being here today.”
Ethan Brookes agreed. “It’s really good fun. Lots of these children don’t get the opportunity to play cricket much. I’m pleased to be here today and help the children enjoy themselves. The main thing is to see the smiles on their faces during the session.”
WCB Coach Nigel Perry Ogden was pleased with how the children on the CAF camp had thrown themselves into the cricket session. “They have all enjoyed it and I have a feeling some of them will have been inspired to carry on playing cricket. Each child attending today’s session has received a plastic bat so they can continue playing after the camp.”
Vinnie Flanagan, aged 11, was delighted with his new plastic bat. “I enjoyed the cricket session. I have only played cricket once before. I liked everything in session, but particularly the batting. All the coaches were very nice too.” Vinnie and the other children attending all the sessions were able to meet the Bears players and have photos after their sessions, prior to the match between Warwickshire CCC and the Warwickshire County Cricket League XI.
Warwickshire CCC v Warwickshire County Cricket League XI
The match between the Bears and the Warwickshire County Cricket League (WCCL) XI at 4.30pm drew a large crowd of 800 people, both from the local area and those clubs with players selected for the WCCL team. Andy Wyles (WCB Participation Manager) was delighted with the turnout, commenting, “It’s good to see such a mix of people here today, both from local clubs and the community as a whole.”
Andy’s WCB colleague, Richard Evans, took a very slow lap round the pitch during the game. “It’s like a Who’s Who of cricket in Coventry and the surrounding area out there,” he said when he returned to the pavilion. “There are pockets of different clubs – Rugby CC, Castle Bromwich CC, Solihull Municipal CC to name but a few – all around the boundary. It’s been a great opportunity to catch up with people from many different clubs, mid-season, and exchange news.”
On the pitch, the Bears batted first and set the WCCL XI a target of 144 to win. The WCCL XI managed to secure victory in the last over, thanks to a wonderful 71 off 53 balls from Shivram Bhambri. With the WCCL XI requiring 2 runs from the final 2 balls, the tension mounted as hundreds of people all around the ground were gripped, watching the action on the pitch. Celebrations erupted all along the boundary when the final runs were scored.
There was great excitement about the fixture in the WCB camp too, due to the inclusion of WCB Cricket Development Officer Alex Roslyn in the WCCL XI. Alex has put in some great performances so far this season for Solihull Municipal CC and his good form continued against the Bears. Alex finished with figures of 4-0-23-0. Commentating on Alex’s excellent first over (the first of the match), his colleague Andy Turnbull was generous in his praise. “I am very impressed with how Alex has opened the bowling in this match. He has bowled skilfully, with good pace and inswing. To concede just one run in the first over of a T20 against professional players is outstanding. I would take that any day of the week!”
Richard Evans was delighted for all the players representing the WCCL. “The majority of the lads out there are real veterans of the WCCL. Most of them have played in the league for a long time and I am pleased they now have the kudos of representing the League against a professional Warwickshire side. For players like Ollie Thomas from Moseley Ashfield, this will be one of the highlights of a long and successful club cricket career.”
Another player representing the WCCL was Wesley Landsdale from Rugby CC. Speaking after the match, Wesley was full of enthusiasm for the experience. “The atmosphere has been electric. More and more people kept arriving at the ground. There are loads of children and families here – some have been able to meet their heroes and others have had their eyes opened to cricket for the first time. It’s been an absolute joy to be part of it.
The pitch has played well and the Rugby CC corner on the boundary was lively – they even had a light-hearted go at me when I missed a couple in the field!”
WCB’s General Manager, Ed McCabe, echoed Wesley’s comments about the pitch. “Credit to Dave Shelton, the groundsman here at Coventry & North Warks CC, for getting the wicket produced in difficult dry circumstances. Credit is also obviously due to the entire CNWCC team, who have worked incredibly hard over the last few weeks to make all the arrangements and publicise the fixture. I hope they can relax a bit now, having seen what a great success the day has been.”
Coventry & North Warks CC Chairman, Dave Robinson, said the event was fantastic, not only for the club but also for cricket in Coventry and the surrounding area. “We’ve had 800 people through the gate and taken £600 in the raffle, on top of healthy bar takings. Most of all, however, it’s been amazing to see a Warwickshire CCC team at our club.
It’s 30 years since we’ve had county cricket at this club but, as you can see, we can still put on a show. People who have come here tonight will say, “Warwickshire CCC came to my local club, and we all had a great time.” People in Coventry love stuff like this and it means a lot that the county club has come out here. We’ve been very lucky with the weather – we couldn’t have had it any better – and it’s just great to see everyone here enjoying the match. It’s been a lot of hard work for everyone at the club, but it’s absolutely been worth it to see the number of people enjoying cricket at the club today. This has been very much a club effort, but I would like to make a special mention of Ryan Quinn, Club Manager at CNW. I sorted the cricket, but Ryan organised all the rest, including the advertising, ticketing, seating, etc.”
The Bears may have narrowly lost the match, but they won lots of new supporters in Coventry and the surrounding area – including amongst the many families and children who had come to see them for the first time. Members of the WCB team were pleased to have played their part, bringing an opportunity to play cricket to more children in Coventry. “It’s always very rewarding to work alongside the county club for events like this in the community,” said Ed McCabe. “We are looking forward to more events like this in the future. Paul Farbrace and his team are always ready to support recreational cricket across Warwickshire.”
