Newsletter 24th June 2025
View from the Chair
A couple of focus areas for me this week – money and safety.
We made our first payment to Maggie’s last week of £2,473. The total from the President’s Fun Day came in at £1,873 (wow!) and prior to this weekend we are up to 4 hundreds and 8 5-fers (although another 100 this weekend!) so we added £600 to the payment. This payment took us over £100,000 of expenditure since our financial year began at the start of October.
As there were several requests in the winter survey to be more open about where the money goes, here are some approximate breakdowns of what has happened so far,
– Ground costs – £28,000
– Cricket costs – £23,000
– Staff costs – £23,000
– Bar costs – £20,000
Obviously, the bar costs generate profit for us by selling what we buy, but hopefully this gives people an insight into how much it costs to run the club, and we still have 3 months left of the year. And this year, we took the decision not to carry out any significant capital expenditure projects. If anyone wants more detail around any of these numbers, please come and see me or drop me an email.
Now onto safety and this is focused on Friday evenings.
1) The fencing is there to ensure all spectators, siblings and All Star players (once they have finished their sessions) are safe. Having people on the wrong side of the fencing could mean balls or bats coming into contact with spectators, which isn’t a good situation.
2) The below picture shows a worrying situation, which can’t continue.
These cans were found on the pitch on Saturday afternoon. If players had dived for a ball and landed on one of these, the consequences are not worth thinking about.
I spoke about litter last week, but this is very serious and can’t continue.
To end on a lighter note, it’s our 3rd food van on Friday, with Antica Woodfired Pizza coming to visit. It’s also our bar prices uplift night, with bar prices going up by 20% (rounded to help the volunteer bar staff!). All this uplift will be going to Maggie’s so please drink and eat pizza for as long as possible, as long as you’re careful about the litter!
Have a great week.
Cheers
Jon
Friday night food van
Fancy a delicious start to the weekend?
Head down to Stamford Road this Friday night and treat yourself to some incredible pizzas from Antica Woodfired Pizza! It’s the perfect way to enjoy the evening. 
Maggie’s Bar Uplift Evening
The next fundraiser for Maggie’s is this Friday – as well as the Pizza Van, we will be upping all drinks prices by 20%.
This will take prices nearer to Central Avenue prices, but still cheaper than most places!
Cocktail Night delivers shaking good times!
What a fantastic evening was had at the recent cocktail and mocktail making event! The clubhouse was buzzing with laughter as people mastered the art of mixing. From zesty Mojitos and vibrant Blue Lagoons to classic Daiquiris and elegant Cosmopolitans, there was an alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink for everyone, ‘expertly’ crafted by the budding mixologists. The party games added an extra splash of fun, making it a truly memorable night.
It’s a highlight of the club’s social calendar so far this year!
Four West Bridgfordians feature in winning school team
Four of our very own West Bridgfordians Cricket Club members – Charlotte, Ruby, Rutvi, and Amelie – were part of the winning West Bridgford School U13 Girls cricket team that just clinched the County Championship title!
Showcasing their all-round strength and skills, they won their games convincingly with margins of 102, 57, 54 and 49 runs against other local schools. It’s brilliant to see their hard work pay off as they represented their school and our club with such distinction.
These talented young cricketers will now go on to compete in the Regional Finals, which will be held right here at Stamford Road on Thursday 3rd July.
Please join us in wishing Charlotte, Ruby, Rutvi, Amelie, and the entire West Bridgford School U13 Girls team the very best of luck for the Regional Finals.
Bar volunteers needed for Friday nights
We’re looking for volunteers to lend a hand behind the bar on Friday nights at Stamford Road, particularly on Friday 4th July.
Experience is preferred but not essential. If you’re willing to learn and keen to get stuck in, we’ll show you the ropes. If you’d like to volunteer, please get in touch with Cate Hayes.
Results
Open Age Cricket
3 more wins this week and £50 more for Maggie’s!
The 1s were beaten in a thriller at Notts Unity on a poor batting pitch. A total of 176-9 from 50 overs was thought to be about par and when Notts Unity were 160-9 with 2 overs to go, it looked like victory was in sight. However, their #8, having batted very subduedly up until then, suddenly unleashed a barrage of attacking shots and went 6, 6, 4 to win it in the 49th over. They remain in 4th position though, only 12 points behind the 2nd placed team, with half the season to go, so still plenty of cricket to be played.
The 2s were up against a struggling Radcliffe side, who did post their highest score of the season on an excellent wicket at Stamford Road. But 168 all out was never going to be enough, even when the score was 10-2, because the in-form John Croasdale then strode to the crease and smashed his 2nd century in a row from only 66 balls to end up 100* and the target reached in only 23.2 overs.
The 3s had a brilliant result against Calverton, who were top of the league at the start of the day. Tight bowling by all 6 bowlers meant only 154-9 was posted from the allotted 45 overs and the WBCC batters made light work of the chasing it down. An opening partnership of 132 between Ian Huskinson (50) and Sam Fitzgerald (71) laid the foundations to a 7 wicket win with over 15 overs to spare.
The 4th team set what looked like a competitive score of 166-6 from their 40 overs (Charlie Philpott top scoring with 36), but Bottesford had other ideas and although they were 16-1 from 11 overs, they then found their feet and ended up knocking them off with just over 2 overs to go.
The 5th team had a comprehensive win at Farnborough Road. Oli Walshe came back from his A-Levels to hit 36 and Dave Snowden wacked a quick-fire 54 from 33 balls so a total of 193-6 was posted. Keyworth had no answer to any of our bowlers, although Noah Tomkins stood out with figures of 6-2-11-4 and they ended up 96 all out.
Finally the 6th team had an even more comprehensive 9 wicket win on Sunday. All the bowlers contributed in bowling Gedling & Sherwood out for 89, although Liam did only concede 1 run off the bat and took 3 wickets. The opening pair of Huey (38) and Charlie A (36*) then took us within 10 runs of victory before Charlie saw us home.
Junior Cricket
U12 Bengals
The U12 Bengals have had a couple of tough games recently, showcasing excellent team performances both away at Notts & Arnold and at home against Ellerslie.
In a low-scoring affair at Notts & Arnold, our bowlers delivered an excellent first-innings display, setting the stage for a battling performance with the bat that saw the team over the line.
Against Ellerslie Josh, Aryaman, and Stanley combining to help the team get to 134 for 2 and then our excellent efforts in the field kept Ellerslie to 113 for 5. A special mention goes to Alfie and Kyan, both of whom made their debut for the team. Alfie picked up his first wicket against Ellerslie with figures of 2 overs, 7 runs, and 1 wicket.
These results mean the Bengals have now played three games, winning two and tying one. It’s great that our U11s are being competitive in the higher age group. The team has two more games coming up this week – good luck, Bengals!
U11 Cup
The U11 team put in a strong performance in the pairs Cup against Ellerslie last week at Stamford Road.
Milan and Josh continue to score heavily this year, each scoring 26 off 16 balls, helping the team to get to 122 for 6. Great fielding and wickets throughout the team then helped restrict Ellerslie to 78 for 11. Special mention to Stanley who is applying is goalkeeping instincts as a fantastic 3rd man! This is such a key position in U11 cricket and Stanley is saving so many runs and giving the team such a boost. Well done everyone!
U11 Reds
The U11 Reds put in a winning performance at Notts Unity Casuals! After scoring 133 for 2, with Josh scoring 32 in a 46 run partnership with Finlay, we saw a tremendous fielding display with only 7 players to keep the opposition to 64 for 10.
Fantastic bowling figures from Zac (2 Overs, 2 Maidens, 3 Wickets), Jude (3 Overs, 1 Maiden, 6 Runs, 3 Wickets) and Shaurya (3 Overs, 2 Maiden, 3 Runs, 2 Wickets). Two more games to come this week!
Friday night menu 27th June
If you’re not in the mood for pizza you don’t need to go hungry!
Hotdog – £2.50 (onions optional) with chips £4.50
Tray of chips £2.50
Cheesy Chips £3.00
Do you have some time to support the club?
There are several ways you can get involved with West Bridgfordians, whether you fancy being on the field in a white coat, keeping score, just lending a hand for a match or two or managing our money.
Get in touch with Dom Evans if you’d like to umpire for our 3rd XI, Justine Robinson if you’d like to score, Jon Sheard if you want to help us with our accounts and John Spragg if you’d like to volunteer to help our 6th team.
Are games and training on?
Yes! Unless we tell you otherwise. If we have to cancel either training or games, we will communicate (via email and socials) so if you don’t hear from us, please turn up as usual.
Join the 100 Club and win big
Our 100 Club needs new members! Currently the first prize is £160 and there’s a draw every month. Entry is £5 a month and the more entries we have, the higher the prize pot. We have set ourselves a target of 20 new members this season, so we will give a countdown in this newsletter!
Sign up for the 100 Club
Book your nets
Club members can book a one hour slot all week round at available times.
Book the Joe Mitchell Nets
Buy new branded kit
Visit the online club shop for new branded kit.
Buy new clothes from the club shop
