The Dorset Cricket Club launched a fundraiser to prevent the demise of its 118th anniversary after neighbors complained about balls flying into their yard.
Wimborne’s Coalhill Cricket Club, founded in 1905, last month decided to open the Coalhill Sports and Social Club’s communal sports ground at the risk of a claim for damages from a “small number” of neighbors who had recently moved into the home. I was told I needed to stop playing adult cricket. It is pictured adjacent to a cricket field.”
The CSSC committee added that the decision to restrict cricket to his under-15s was taken “with a heavy heart and as an absolute last resort”.
But a petition to reverse the decision was backed by, among others, current Test captain Ben Stokes and predecessor Michael Vaughan, who tweeted, “I see if this is April 1st.” The signature club is now looking to raise over £35,000 to install nets in front of affected homes.
George Taylor, the club captain who set up the petition, said that a round of Whatsapp messages from his team-mates had put “fire in his belly” to save the club, which he argued was the victim of a “not in my back yard” mentality.
‘When the land was gifted to the club in the early 20th century, there was a covenant stating cricket had to be played there,” Taylor said. “Two years ago a neighbour moved in and started complaining about the balls hitting her fence and going into her property. When they decided to suspend adult cricket, there was no forum or debate – they didn’t give any of us members notice.”
By 1pm on January 12, the club had raised nearly a third of their target, £10,000, with the funds also pledged to cover the club’s insurance costs, which have more than trebled in the past three years, and a reserve fund for incidental damage at lower-risk properties that will not be covered by the netting.
“Neighbours previously unaware of just how valuable the cricket heritage of the village was to the community were given a clear insight into how much it meant,” read a statement from Colehill CC. “As a result, some companies have made substantial offers to cover some of their net costs.”
“It is against this background that the Commission has decided that, provided that funds be raised and the logistics provided for the installation of the nets necessary to enable adult cricket to continue safely on the grounds, , overturned the decision to end adult cricket.”