Players and staff at our village cricket club are celebrating an exciting and successful summer which has seen their 1st team secure promotion for the 2024 season!
Next year Ruddington Cricket Club will be playing in Division B of the South Nottinghamshire Cricket League after finishing second in Division C in 2023. Captained by Tom Hann, the ‘1s’ produced some top performances throughout this summer, securing promotion with a game to spare. Meantime, Ruddington’s 2nd team retained their status in Division G, whilst their Sunday adult side held their own in Division 3 of the Newark Alliance League.
Ruddington CC Chairman, Nic Greaves, says: “Our senior teams demonstrated the club’s commitment to its junior section, giving many of our older juniors the opportunity to play adult cricket and continue on the pathway towards our 1st team. Our junior section continues to go from strength to strength. 2023 was the first year we have fielded a girls soft ball team – one of 6 junior sides representing Rudd CC this year. Our u11s reached the final of the NYCL u11 cup, while five of our juniors have represented Nottinghamshire age group teams – three boys (Notts u11) and two girls (Notts u11 and Blaze EPP).”
The ‘All Stars’ and ‘Dynamo’ programmes for 5-10 year olds have also continued – providing village children with the opportunity to learn what cricket is about and start that journey towards playing competitively. In all, around 120 youngsters have represented Ruddington CC this summer.
Off the field, the club has achieved ‘Clubmark Accreditation’ this year; demonstrating it is well-managed and welcoming. This has involved considerable work by the club committee to meet the national standards – ensuring Ruddington’s club is safe, inclusive and has all the processes in place to continue their successes on and off the field. The facilities at Elms Park are shared with Ruddington Village FC – whose first team also secured promotion at the end of last season – and it’s also the home of Ruddington Bowls Club.
“The future of cricket and sport more generally at Elms Park is looking positive” says Nic. “Through working closely with the Parish Council, both football clubs and the bowls club, we are developing plans to improve the facilities at Elms Park to give even more people the opportunity to enjoy cricket, football and bowls in the heart of the village.”
The Chairman adds that everyone is delighted that the club is continuing to go from strength to strength, both on and off the field. “The growth in the number of players participating at the club has been fantastic to see, and to see some of those children who have been at the club since the age of 5 representing their county is wonderful. It has been particularly pleasing to see our 1st team dominate all summer long, and we can’t wait to see how they perform in division B next year. Much of this couldn’t have been achieved without our dedicated volunteers, scorers, umpires, captains, players, parents, groundsmen, coaches and committee members, so we are grateful for all the time, energy and enthusiasm they contribute to make this a great club to be a part of.”
With the club getting bigger as our village population increases, and playing at a higher standard, they are on the lookout for more coaches, managers, scorers, umpires, supporters or people to run the tuck shop/bar. “Our volunteers are doing a brilliant job, but we are always looking for people who want to be part of a growing success story in Ruddington. Please get in touch if you want to get involved in any capacity” asks Nic.
You can contact Ruddington Cricket Club via their website >>HERE<<.
