Gloucestershire Cricket to help unveil artificial pitches around Bristol
29 March 2017
This Sunday, Gloucestershire Cricket will help unveil five new non-turf pitches across the city of Bristol.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) hopes to increase the amount of cricket played in Bristol and has donated more than £40,000 to the five artificial wickets which have been installed at four sites across the City for use by community groups, casual players and existing teams.
The wickets at Blaise Castle (2), Dundridge Park, Eastville Park and Oldbury Court will be officially opened by players from Gloucestershire Cricket on Sunday 2 April as part of the Bristol European City of Sport celebrations.
We are encouraging members of the public to come to Eastville Park on Sunday at 9.00 am to witness the unveiling of the wicket and also to enjoy a morning of sports activities.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), Women’s World Cup trophy will also be on show at the event in Eastville Park. With Bristol hosting eight world cup matches in 2017, it’s a great chance to have snap taken with the trophy before the tournament begins in June!
There will also be other sporting organisations from the City showcasing what they have to offer. A morning not to be missed!
Click here for more information on the day.
Gloucestershire Cricket Board (GCB) Clubs and Programmes officer John Peplow said: “The idea is to encourage more people to play cricket, both formally and informally.
“We know that the time, effort, cost and availability of finding a properly maintained grass wicket is one of the things that limits the opportunity for people to play cricket so we hope that by installing these pitches we can get people involved who might not otherwise have had the chance.”
- John Peplow
The focus on trying to increase the amount of casual cricket being played is a key part of the ECB’s new Cricket Unleashed strategy – the organisation’s blueprint for the future of the game. Along with Sheffield, Bristol is one of only two cities chosen by the ECB for the non-turf wicket pilot scheme.
As part of the project, the ECB has also funded £9,000 of cricket equipment which will be made available to community groups who want to make use of the pitches. The new facilities can be booked by email at sports.lettings@bristol.gov.uk.
The pitches at Oldbury Court and Blaise Castle Estate are on existing cricket grounds and are the only sites where a hardball can be used.
All the non-turf pitches will be made available to clubs looking to start a junior section but who don’t have their own ground. All the sites will be available to book online but if they are free, people will also be able to turn up and play.
John added: “There are a whole range of possibilities for these pitches from cricket clubs to community groups and schools. The quality of artificial wickets has improved hugely over the years and it means that these parks have a top class facility that will allow people to have a really positive experience of the game.”
