Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Dear Member,
I very much hope that you, your family and your friends have been keeping well and staying safe during this difficult period for all our communities.
The last four months have been extremely testing for everyone but in response to these difficult circumstances, the Club has remained as active as possible, with our staff, players and coaches doing everything they can to make a positive difference.
You may well have seen that Edgbaston’s car park has been transformed into a national COVID-19 testing centre, whilst the Exhibition Hall has become a food storage and distribution hub for a local charity and this has been operated by furloughed staff from the Club.
Our players and coaches have made many calls to self-isolating Members, as well as recording birthday messages for Junior Bears, and I hope that you have been able to join some of the weekly question and answer sessions on Zoom with Bears past and present. As well as giving so much of their time, staff have also taken the opportunity to raise nearly £10,000 for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity and the NSPCC’s Childline service in Birmingham, through various fundraising initiatives.
At times like these, we are much more than a Cricket Club. We are part of our communities and we play a vital role in providing help, resources and encouragement in coming through these difficult periods.
At the same time, over these four months of lockdown, the Board has had to make difficult decisions to protect the financial position of the Club. We have also been working in close cooperation with the ECB and our fellow counties to bring professional and recreational Cricket back as soon as allowed.
After a long wait, I’m sure you now share my excitement about the resumption of County Cricket from 1 August, initially through a red-ball tournament, which we are delighted has been named the Bob Willis Trophy, and which will largely have to be played behind-closed-doors.
Everyone at Edgbaston shares the frustration at the delayed start to the season as well as the absence of loyal Members for these first fixtures. We are doing our utmost to secure the safe return of spectators to Edgbaston and, at the time of writing we have hosted a limited number of Members at our friendly match versus Worcestershire.
The Club has high hopes to play a further part in this Government pilot programme, which supports the safe return of spectators to live sporting events. However, to give as many Members as possible sufficient notice to secure a seat at any reduced capacity fixtures, it is imperative that we have a current email address from you.
If you are not currently receiving electronic communications from the Club please visit edgbaston.com/member-email to register.
Meanwhile, we shall be making available an enhanced live streaming service covering all home games (and away games where possible). This stream will come through directly to the Match Centre for each fixture on edgbaston.com and will include the commentary from our local reporters at BBC WM and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. We want to provide our Members with the best live stream possible, so please do take a look online and let us know your thoughts.
Your 2020 Membership Subscription
As a Member, your contribution to the Club is recognised and greatly appreciated.
Now that the return of competitive cricket has been finalised, the Board has had discussions, as well as with the Membership Committee, to provide an update on 2020 Membership subscriptions.
We have also received many kind letters and emails from Members who have expressed their wish to donate their 2020 Membership subscription to support the Club at this difficult time.
If you would like to leave your 2020 Membership subscription in the Club in full to continue to support the investment in our teams and facilities at Edgbaston, you do not need to take any action. If we do not hear from you before midnight on Friday 28 August, your 2020 Membership fee will automatically be donated to the Club in full.
To recognise the contribution made by Members who wish to donate their 2020 subscription in full, we are offering a number of special rewards.
- Your name printed on a plaque which recognises all donors, and will be positioned prominently at Edgbaston Stadium
- Your name incorporated into a special edition design of the One-Day Cup playing shirt for 2021
- An invitation to a special Members’ reception during the early part of the 2021 season
- A complimentary T20 Season Pass to allow you to bring a guest to all home Vitality Blast group games in 2021 (Subject to your 2021 Membership renewal but will be in addition to the usual guest passes)
- Priority and complimentary access to any Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears fixtures in 2020, which are played in-front of a live audience
- First priority access to buy Major Match tickets in 2021
- Acknowledgement in the 2020 Annual Report
Membership subscriptions are an important part of the Club’s revenues and partly fund the investment in all Warwickshire teams, including the senior men’s team, senior women’s team, our county age group teams and Performance Pathway.
Refund option
If you feel unable to leave your 2020 Membership subscription with the Club, you can apply for a refund (or partial refund if you are part of a multi-year membership category) by completing the Refund Form sent to Members via email or post before midnight on Friday 28 August, 2020. At the same time, you will also have an opportunity to donate an amount of your choice to the Club on this form.
Please note that if applying for a refund, your Membership will be cancelled from Tuesday 1 September and your payment will subsequently be processed during September. Should the Club receive clearance to allow spectators into the ground for match days later in the season, 2020 Members who have requested a refund will be required to purchase tickets to attend these games.
Many thanks again for your support for Warwickshire County Cricket Club and I hope that we can host you again at Edgbaston soon.
If you have any questions about your 2020 Membership, please email us at tickets@edgbaston.com.
Mark McCafferty
Chairman, Warwickshire County Cricket Club
