The 2024 cricket season can’t come quickly enough for Broadstairs CC as they look to build upon what was an outstanding 2023 and subsequent indoor cricket campaign.
Having achieved promotion to the Championship last season, the indoor side took over during the winter months, remaining unbeaten through the Thanet League matches and subsequent County- and Regional Finals. This culminated in the National Final of the ECB Indoor Competition at Lord’s on March 17th. After a series of near misses at the same stage in the last ten years, Broadstairs were finally able to remain calm and composed when the pressure was on and were victorious, beating Dorset’s Ferndown Wayfarers in the National Final to win the tournament for the first time in 26 years.
The club is hoping to keep that winning feeling going as they embark on the start of the outdoor season, returning to the 2nd tier of Kent League cricket after a four-year absence. The curtain-raiser sees them travel to Dartford on Saturday 11th May with the first home league match on Saturday 18th May against Beckenham CC. The full fixture list (including pre- season friendlies) can be found on the club website https://www.broadstairscricketclub.co.uk/blog/fixture-list-for-2024
In his second full season as skipper, Matt Hardy can look forward to fielding a strong and settled side; building on last season’s success, there’s every reason to be optimistic about how the team will perform at the higher level.
The 2nd XI begin their 2024 league campaign in Division 7 Hurricane, with a home fixture on 11th May against Westgate-on-Sea. Team captain Andy Marshall and vice-captain Callum McCormick will be searching for the perfect mix of experienced club players with a group of talented youngsters who have recently transitioned from junior cricket into the adult game.
The Sunday XI programme of fixtures begins on 2nd June and continues through to late September. Full details on the website.
Following another successful junior programme last year, the club will be stepping-up the focus on junior cricket. Over the years, the junior section has been the lifeblood of the club with the vast majority of recent additions to the senior teams having previously been junior club players. Recognising the critical role of investing in youth cricket, the club has appointed Chris Kidd to a Junior Head Coach role. Chris brings many years of playing and coaching experience and working alongside Kevan Skelton and Gareth Palmer in a re-vamped junior section, he will help players achieve an enhanced level of performance and promote a structure and a culture of continuous improvement across the training programmes. For more details, see the article of the website https://www.broadstairscricketclub.co.uk/blog/broadstairs-cc-2024-junior-programme . In addition to U11, U13 and U15 squads, the club will run softball sessions on Saturday mornings from May. The first of these will be on 4th May – this will be an open, free taster session and a chance for parents and players to meet the coaches. Full details can be found at https://www.broadstairscricketclub.co.uk/pages/all-stars
Broadstairs CC continues to be the only club in the area to offer an extensive range of coaching and playing opportunities for junior cricketers in the region and with the continued support of parents and coaches, the club is hopeful that the future prosperity of the sport can be safeguarded.
Broadstairs CC is always keen to welcome new members to the club. This could be as playing members in the junior or senior sections, as umpire, coach or simply to enjoy the cricket as a social member. For more details, please get in touch on the contact page of the club’s website https://www.broadstairscricketclub.co.uk/pages/contact
The club is grateful for the continued support from our kit sponsors for this season: Miles & Barr, St Lawrence College, Levicks and The Potting Shed. In addition, the club is also proud to continue to carry the Porchlight logo on the playing kit.
As part of the club’s continuing development, a partnership has been established with ESU Scoreboards and visitors to the ground will enjoy the spectacle of the newly-installed electronic scoreboard
Over recent seasons, around 20 local businesses have been welcomed as Ground Sponsors; their advertising banners around the ground have been featured in numerous local newspaper articles as well as on X and Instagram. Throughout the 2024 season, ground sponsors will be highlighted on the club’s website which receives over 200 hits each weekend during the season.
The club would welcome further partnerships with local businesses – with the club going from strength to strength both on and off the field, now is a great time to get involved. Anyone interested in a potential partnership, or just keen to watch the team in action are invited to come along to the Park Avenue ground any Saturday afternoon during the season or contact the club via the contact page on the website https://www.broadstairscricketclub.co.uk/pages/contact