Welcome to Effingham Cricket Club
Effingham is a wonderful family cricket club for both senior and junior cricketers in the Borough of Guildford in Surrey. The Cricket Ground lies at the edge of Effingham Common and was originally known as The Calburn Cricket Field. The site was given to the Parish Council by the Lord of the Manor, Mr Calburn and has existed since 1853.
Known as “The Ships”, the club runs two adult men’s teams, with the 1st XI playing in the Surrey Championship, and the 2nd XI in the Shepherd Neame Surrey County League. We also have a Sunday XI in the Village Cricket League, and a women’s team entering the Surrey Women’s Cricket League for the first time in 2023. Our Youth Development Programme has cricketers as young as 5 years old, and junior teams play in the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship.
Outfield Project – Final Report
Main work commenced on the 14th August when, on the Monday evening, a small club team erected the security fencing along the 2 open sides of the outfield. An impressive array of equipment was delivered to the site by the contractor and work commenced on fraise-mowing. This removed the top c.15mm largely consisting of dead grass, moss and assorted weeds killed off by the herbicide applied on 1st August. The arisings from this process have been put along the side of the lane to form a bank.
Rotavation of the entire outfield followed with the top c.125 mm ploughed into a fine tilth. This resulted in one mishap – when the rotavator cut through the water pipe serving the square! A new, deeper pipe was installed to replace it. 200 tons of quality topsoil was then delivered and spread across the poorest draining areas, running from the nets, along past the storage sheds and clubhouse then along the lane side of the field.
The remaining stages were:
- Levelling, deep tining, and stone burying with debris removal.
- Importation of 140 tons of medium grade sand, spread and ‘ameliorated’ across the entire outfield.
- Grading of final surface levels, rolling, and seedbed preparation including the application of fertiliser.
- Over-seeding, the seed being drilled into the surface.
- Final rolling.
The entire works took 10 days. Within 7 days of seeding, helped by some useful rain, extensive initial growth was evident. The grass appeared in lines reflecting the fact the seed was drilled into the surface.
The contractor’s photogrammetric drone surveys mapped the entire outfield at a 10cm contour interval (based on 61.5 million survey points!). The resulting contour maps highlight in great detail the degree of surface levelling/smoothing achieved by the works. The final contours also confirm that a shallow valley running up the side of the outfield alongside the lane, an area prone to waterlogging, has been largely filled in.
Future works
The contract makes provision for 3 outfield cuts, 2 applications of fertiliser plus over-seeding and aeration. These operations will be carried out by the contractor as and when deemed appropriate.
Given a reasonable growing season through this Autumn and Spring, a level, well-grassed outfield should be ready for action in time for the start of next season.
Lionel Fewson
A Message From Mat Meers
I have been lucky enough to be able to call myself the Effingham “overseas” since 2013, and have made 6 trips from my home in Sydney, Australia to play with the Ships (2013, ’15, ’17, ’19, ’22 & ’23). From what started as a simple message asking to play some cricket while I was staying in the area, to now scheduling all my time off from work to come over to play, it is safe to say this club has had an impact on me.
I like to use the term “overseas” as my skill level is nowhere near the level of your typical overseas player. (I have the special dispensation from the league to play 2nd XI to prove it!) However, I have found that here, it is the people and their attitudes that drive the success of the club, and whatever skill level you have, there will be an opportunity for you.
From a 1st XI that has been promoted 4 times in 4 years, and now playing in the Surrey Championship, and 2nd XI newly promoted and beginning a journey of their own, it has been the homegrown players, starting from Colts, working their way up to the higher level, with a great support system along the way, that is giving this club their great success.
And with the club now having a women’s team, which, thanks to the hard work of the club is growing very quickly, I look forward to those same opportunities being afforded to them. One of my favourite things about visiting is seeing how much the youngsters have improved their games, and working their way up the ranks since my last visit. That being said, any new players of any age or skill level would be welcomed into the fold with open arms!
If you are reading this because you are trying to make a decision on joining this club, all I can say is please do not judge a book by its cover – there may be other, more flasher covers, but this has to be the best story out there, for the people that are here alone, and I can assure you that you, your son, daughter or whoever comes to play here, will not regret it!
Meersy
U10s Surrey Softball South League Winners!
It’s been a great season for our U10s, who this week won the U10/U11s Surrey Softball South league!
Having won 8 of their 9 games, the team faced a winner-takes-all decider against a strong Dorking U11 side, and it went right to the wire, ending up in a nail-biting tie off the final ball of the season which was enough to top the league!
Huge well done to all the players: Aurelia, George, Jacob, Jake, Lucie, Max, Millie, Nathan, Oscar and Sam. The U10s’ coach, James, said: ‘The whole squad have been brilliant since the start of winter nets, taking on board everything Tom and I have been asking them to do. Thanks very much to all the parents as well, for ferrying the kids around, helping out with the coaching, scoring, and more. It’s been a great team effort and roll on the U11s season!’
A Response to The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket Report June 2023
After a two year investigation, the findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report have been published, concluding that institutional racism, sexism, and elitism are prevalent throughout the game.
The report presents a damning state of cricket in England and Wales, and as an English cricket club, we cannot distance ourselves from this report. Enjoyment of cricket for all our players is the guiding principle of our club. In the wake of this report, we feel it is important to emphasis the inclusive values of ECC and the work we do together to make it a welcoming and inclusive space.
Racism and sexism are abhorrent stains on society, and elitism is indefensible. ECC is a reflection of all of its members, and together we have worked on both large and small scale improvements to shape our club into an environment conducive of enjoyable cricket for all.
This work is ongoing, but has involved the rapid development of our provision of women and girls’ cricket, to ensure there is a pathway for our youngest members going forward. Ukrainian refugees living in the local area have been welcomed to our junior training on Friday nights, encouraging a sense of belonging in the wider community.
The catering of our cricket teas and drinks, and the contents of our bar are continually considered, so that they can be enjoyed by people of various dietary or faith requirements.
Given the location of ECC, we have members from both public and private educational backgrounds. On principle, we are welcome to all, but we have made a deliberate effort as part of our youth set up to target potential junior cricketers from local state schools.
These are a handful of examples of actions the club has taken in recent years to build the best community we can. However, we acknowledge that this work is ongoing, and there will always be ways improvements can be made. Here, we rely on our members, to share their experiences and ideas with us, as working together is the only way to make our club the best it can be.
One finding the report highlighted was that experiences of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination are not often reported due to a distrust in authorities. ECC wishes to make it clear that we do not tolerate any form of discrimination at our club, and that we will always listen to and act to remove any such behaviour.
Our policy is to find cricket for all who wish to play, and together we can ensure ECC is an inclusive, welcoming space offering enjoyment of the game to all. The behaviour of all of us is a reflection of the spirit of ECC. Therefore, it is the responsibility of everyone to work together and make our club an inclusive, welcoming, and enjoyable place for all.
Paul Stroud, Chair David Roberts, Vice-Chair
England & Wales Cricket Trust
Small Grant Scheme 2017
Our sincere thanks go to the EWCT for awarding Effingham CC an incredible £3,000 grant as part of their small grant scheme 2017. The scheme is designed to help clubs make small changes to improve their long-term sustainability and/or to increase the number of games played during the season.
At Effingham, we put the funds alongside a club contribution of £1,400 to acquire new mobile covers. This essential equipment directly contributed to improved playing conditions in 12 fixtures and ensured that 5 matches were actually played that would otherwise have been cancelled.
Club Sponsors
