Whittington have got their very own field of dreams

That was the verdict of former England cricketer Laura MacLeod at the official unveiling of the re-born cricket facilities at Whittington Cricket and Bowls Club.

Laura, who is now Director of the West Midlands Women’s Cricket, was one of the guests of honour at the unveiling of the hub which will act as a base for Shropshire’s Women & Girls teams and the local community.

She said: “It’s great to see the transformation that has happened here.

“A safe environment for the kids, safe for the family, and so many memories will be created here I’m sure, possibly long into Saturday and Sunday evenings in the Summer months.”

The official unveiling marked a remarkable transformation in the fortunes of cricket in the village.

The men’s side folded after the 2016 Shropshire Cricket League season and the cricket field quickly became overgrown with the square disappearing and sheep grazing on the field.

In 2021, the idea of bringing Whittington back to life as a hub for Women & Girls cricket was first mooted in an area which had been identified in lacking capacity for the game in a Shropshire Council Playing Pitch Survey.

Cricket Shropshire Chair Adrian Collins said: “When I came here a couple of years ago there were sheep out there on the ground and the grass was knee-high.

“It just shows you what you can achieve with a bit of vision and hard work, and of course a few bob.

“One person I would like to mention is Steve Reese, Lead Officer for Shropshire Cricket Board. Without his vision and drive this would not have happened. The Whittington committee have, of course, been fantastic working with him.

“What this place does now is open up opportunities for Women & Girls cricket.

“That is particularly important as we look to grow the game, especially for Women and Girls. Traditional clubs can’t always cope – they are dominated by the men’s game and boys and girls’ cricket and there just isn’t the scope on their grounds for the Women’s teams.

“What this place does – and hence the word ‘hub’ – is it gives us the opportunity to grow the game and give more opportunities to young girls and the Witches and get cricket played on good facilities.

“This really is brilliant in that respect.”

Following on from the work done in the past two years, the club were successful in bidding for a significant grant from ECB which has seen the construction of a three-lane enclosed practice net, sight screens, pitch covers, a new non-turf pitch, pitch roller and storage container plus a facelift is planned for the tired scoreboard.

Mike Brunt, chair Whittington Cricket and Bowls Club said: “I would like to thank the parish council for their input into what we have done here and their support in everything we have got here today.

“It has been a long haul over the 18 months to get to this stage, but it is evolving and we want to help women’s cricket to grow. Over the next few years we want to see this has a hub for the Women & Girls game in Shropshire.

“You can already see the positive effect. It started last year with Dynamos and All Stars that we launched, the women’s team the Whittington Witches developed out of that, which is really good.

“What we want to do is make this more of a community project for the village as, like most villages, it is expanding so we want to try and involve everybody in what we are trying to achieve.”

“Thanks to all the input from the ECB and the Shropshire Cricket Board. One person I would like to mention is Nigel Davies, without all his hard work we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Laura MacLeod said she was delighted to attend the event and see two different groups in attendance – the local community and members of Shropshire’s Under 15s and 18s squads

“I’ll speak to the two audiences I’ve got here. To all those from Whittington, I grew up in a cricket club similar to this. We really did have a lovely community.

“Safe for the kids, safe for the family and so many memories will be created here I’m sure, possibly long into Saturday and Sunday evenings in the Summer months.

“Make the most of this and in particular to the Whittington Witches, best of luck for the season, be brave, be bold and don’t think there is a ceiling just because you are late to the game.

“Don’t think you can’t go further than where you are now because there are so many opportunities so keep pushing the boundaries.”

Also in attendance on the day was Central Sparks skipper and Birmingham Phoenix batter Eve Jones who is from Whitchurch and developed her cricket career after blazing a trail on the Shropshire pathway.

She also has strong links with Whittington having been involved in coaching at the ground in the past with her dad Rod.

Laura said: “To the young girls in the Shropshire U15s and U18s who are the future of the game. You could not only be where Eve is playing the game on the pathway, but you could be where I am.

“There are opportunities in administration. You could be a coach, you could be a strength and conditioning coach, you could be a physio. We’ve also got roles in areas like digital content managers.

“There are so many roles now in the Women’s professional game, we really are just on the verge of something which is really special.

“Don’t think that you have a ceiling either. Really start to stretch yourself, whether that be as a player, of think about how the things you do as a player can be transferred into your school life – maybe not now but in the future.

“See where you can go.”

Laura and Eve also took part in a very popular Q&A with girls of the Shropshire squad and the members from Whittington in attendance on the day.

Local clubs and individuals are able to book the net facility or hire of the ground and pavilion by contacting the club directly. Anyone interested should contact Nigel Davies via nigeld1962@icloud.com or call 07974 228575.