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    27

    Mar 2023

    Last Updated: 27/03/2023
    Community
    Community

    Harrogate Cricket Club launches £75,000 nets appeal

    by John Plummer

    | 27 Mar, 2023
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    Harrogate Cricket Club has launched a £75,000 fundraising appeal to buy four cricket nets.

    The nets would enable the club, which has four senior teams, 150 junior players and walking cricket for over-55s, to practise using some of the best facilities in the district.

    It currently has only two overused nets in poor condition at its St George's Road ground.

    The crowdfunder campaign therefore initially aims to raise £30,000 and would make the new facilities open to the wider community.

    The club has found donors willing to match fund that amount so the £30,000 target would generate £60,000. A further £15,000 may be required as the cost of the new nets could be as high as £75,000.



    The crowdfunding page said:

    "We want to be able to provide some of the best cricket facilities in the north of England. But we’re currently falling well short of where we want to be.
    "We only have two nets for hundreds of players and they are really old and tired. We have constant issues with net congestion, i.e. too many players and not enough nets and this significantly impacts our players' ability to practise and develop."






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    The nets will, according to the club, "allow each cricketer to develop at their own pace, with enough ‘net time’ to discover their strengths and work on their confidence".

    The first team plays in the Yorkshire Premier League and is coached by former Yorkshire player Matt Pillans.

    Female cricket has boomed in recent years and the club's girls section now has three teams across three age groups.



    The appeal adds:

    "There is a real lack of quality net facilities in North Yorkshire. We believe we can build an outstanding facility that will serve our players, their families, and the broader cricketing community for years to come."


    You can support the campaign here.