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On Sunday 7 July, Dorridge Cricket Club officially opened its new ground at Grange Road. The ground, opened by Gavin Larson, Warwickshire’s Director of Performance, has predominantly been built to be used by the club’s women’s teams and to help develop the future of girls and women’s cricket in Warwickshire.
To celebrate, the club hosted a family fun day which included a cricket match between a chairman’s and president’s XI with special guests, as well as a live band, pop-up food stalls, and cricket taster sessions in the nets.
The match was the first to take place on the new ground, and despite a couple of rain showers, the celebrations were not dampened.
Ed McCabe of the Warwickshire Cricket Foundation played, scoring 32 off 29 balls and bowling two overs for 14 runs, including the wicket of Saqib Bhatti, Meriden’s local MP.
Phil Smith, Chair of Dorridge Cricket Club, said “The opening of the new ground is a huge milestone for us. I would like to personally thank everyone who has made the new ground possible, including the ECB, Sport England and the wonderful support from Warwickshire Cricket Foundation. Our club members have shown incredible support with fundraising and have been quick to respond to requests for help. And the wider community and local businesses have also been fantastic and very generous with their support. We started talking about building a new ground some eight years ago and, thanks to a lot of hard work, it was great to see the first match being held on it.”
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In recent years, Dorridge Cricket Club has seen considerable growth in the number of female cricket players. The club currently runs six girls’ and women’s teams and strives to increase this number.
Anisha Patel, head of women’s cricket at Dorridge Cricket Club, said “Women’s cricket is especially important at Dorridge. Last year our women’s 1st X1 reached the final of the England Cricket Board (ECB) National Vitality T20 Women’s Club Cup. And earlier this year we also became the first women’s recreational team to play at Lords. These are fantastic achievements and all down to the hard work we put in and the great support we receive from the club.”
“It is tremendously exciting to have such a fantastic new facility for our teams. It will help us to accommodate the growing number of girls and women within the club, offering a great training area and a first-class ground to play on. In addition, for next season we will have use of a new pavilion. We are making great progress, and we are also well supported by Warwickshire Cricket Foundation.”
Sanjay Vadher, Dorridge Cricket Club’s Secretary & Safeguarding Officer, added “Women and girls cricket is one of Dorridge Cricket Club’s top priorities as we are aiming to become a beacon club. From being part of the inception of women and girls cricket here to seeing it starting to flourish is very rewarding!
“We have some brilliant cricketers and people here who are making this happen along with tremendous support from Warwickshire Cricket Foundation and the ECB. Participation is increasing year on year, and we are confident with our approach and focus that every player at Dorridge Cricket Club will not only enjoy their cricket and grow, they will also continue to build on our successes.”
Dorridge’s women’s team had their most recent success on Sunday, beating Keyworth in the Midlands Regional T20 Final and progressing to the national semi-final against Yorkshire team Sessay CC.
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Planning and discussions about building the new ground first began in 2016, with planning permission granted four years later. The project was put on hold for two years due to the pandemic, but resumed in autumn 2022.
Richard Evans, Club Development Officer at the Warwickshire Cricket Foundation, said “We worked alongside Dorridge to present to the ECB and get significant funding for the second ground, enabling them to convert the field into a playable cricket pitch and square.”
“The presentation took place in the summer of 2022, with women and girls’ cricket at the forefront, as well as the need to satisfy the area’s growing demand. The ECB approved the grant from their Strategic Fund, and work began immediately at the end of the 2022 season.”
“Since then, we’ve assisted the club with pitch advisor visits and helped set up a Crowdfunder campaign to help fund the construction of a second pavilion on the new ground.”
“We have also committed funding from the County Grant fund to help the club in fitting out the dressing rooms in the new pavilion.”
The Warwickshire Cricket Foundation is looking forward to continuing working with Dorridge to support the growth of Women and Girls Cricket in Warwickshire.