England stars Alastair Cook, Nick Compton and Lauren Winfield will be turning their hands to painting and decorating when this year’s NatWest CricketForce kicks off with a trio of showcase events next week.
The England Test captain will be heading to Dymock Cricket Club, accompanied by former England captain Mike Gatting, to launch the annual volunteering initiative, which encourages clubs to rejuvenate their facilities ahead of the new cricket season.
More than 2,000 clubs and thousands of cricket volunteers have already signed up for this year’s NatWest CricketForce, which will include national showcase events at three clubs across the country.
The key events will be at:
Dymock CC, Gloucestershire, Friday 1 April – the club, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, is currently building a new pavilion part-funded by ECB and the club’s on-day activity will include erection of a new electronic scoreboard, tree-planting and fence painting.
Happisburgh CC, Norfolk, Saturday 2 April – Happisburgh are the first cricket club from Norfolk to be chosen as a NatWest CricketForce showcase club and their on-day activity will include major renovation of the club’s pavilion, fence painting and general repairs. England Test batsman Nick Compton and former England captain Mike Gatting will be in attendance.
Bedford Cricket Club, Bedfordshire, Sunday 3 April – England Women’s player Lauren Winfield, along with Mike Gatting, will be joining in with CricketForce facility improvement projects at the club, which nearly went out of existence 10 years ago but is now thriving and boasts a strong women’s and girls’ section.
Jewson are supporting all three clubs as “The Primary Official Supporter” of NatWest CricketForce.
Now in its 15th year, Cricketforce has grown into one of the biggest sports volunteering initiatives in the country and has previously won a Sport Industry award for its pioneering work in helping clubs to engage with their local communities.
NatWest Head of Sponsorship, Martyn Wilson, said: “We are incredibly proud of the NatWest CricketForce programme and the support it provides to cricket clubs and the communities they serve across England and Wales.
“It’s great to be a part of such a thriving programme and see both club registrations and the number of NatWest volunteers increasing once again.”
England captain Cook added: “It’s always great to give something back to the club game that played such an important part in my own development as a cricketer. I’m looking forward to being a part of NatWest CricketForce once again and I would urge as many cricket-lovers as possible to join in the fun and show support for their local club.”
Source: ECB