Nicholls Colton Lend a Hand to Sileby Cricket Club
Nicholls Colton helped out Sileby Town Cricket Club during their Natwest CricketForce 2007 weekend by donating the use of kit and fuel. Ben Cavey (Sileby Town Cricket Club First Team and Club Captain) and Marc Davies (a Sileby Town supporter), both Nicholls Colton employees, spent the weekend of the 31st March and 1st April assisting in renovations to the cricket club facilities for the up and coming cricket season.
NatWest CricketForce encourages cricket supporters, their friends and families to give something back to their local community cricket club by volunteering to undertake major renovations to clubhouses and grounds.
On the Sunday, volunteers were assisted by England spinner Ashley Giles, England seamer Stuart Broad and Leicestershire County Captain Jeremy Snape and Senior Coach Tim Boon and England women cricketers Nicky Shaw, Jenny Gunn and Jane Smit. Like the STCC cricketers, they swapped bat and ball for paint brush and other tools as part of an England and Wales Cricket Board initiative across the country aimed at rejuvenating local cricket clubs. The local and international stars also took time to sign autographs, chat to volunteers and coach some up and coming juniors of the club. Ben reminded Stuart Broad of the hundred he scored against him a few seasons earlier when he played for Egerton Park. He also remembered Ben getting him out (caught and bowled!).
The weekend proved to be the most productive off field event the club has witnessed in its entire history. Projects that were undertaken included the erection of a eremite fence covering over half of the first playing field, a new BBQ, a new well/bench area, a retaining wall and new car park area, new changing room carpets, staining of all the wooden interior of the changing rooms, hedgerows being re-layed, hand rollers being given the once over, both the entrance gates sanded down and painted, scorebox numbers repaired, patio fencing put up, new hand rails and wooden veranda inserts erected and stained and upgrade and tidy of the existing practice facilities.
Over 150 volunteers turned up on both the Saturday and Sunday and as Mill Lane underwent a transformation that made the club a shining beacon for all village clubs as to what can be achieved when a community clubs together. This will leave a legacy for future years to come.
Ben would like to thank everyone that helped including Marc and family, and Nicholls Colton for their kind donation and assistance for the weekend.
Hopefully this will kick start the season and give Sileby Town Cricket Club a running start after the massive success of last years cricket season. The first team won Division One of the Leicestershire Everards League, made it the County Cup final played at Grace Road (the home of Leicestershire County Cricket), made it to the Charity Cup Final, the second team won the Fifth Division of the League, the Sunday first team won the Golding Cup (Grantham League Cup Competition) and the U15’s finished second in the country!
For further information about Sileby Town or fixture lists and results, please go to http://www.silebytowncc.org.uk/ .