Firkin & Stumps: Club Life holds many happy memories for Hadleigh

Firkin and Stumps headed to East Anglia. They came across Hadleigh Cricket club,who are still buzzing from a SKY TV feature 2 years ago.  Thank you to East Anglian Daily Times for the post.

Post By Nick Garnham

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

HADLEIGH Cricket Club are still reaping the rewards of being featured on Sky TV two years ago.

Hadleigh were one of only three amateur clubs to be featured on Club Life, a series of six episodes which followed their fortunes during the course of the 2010 season.

David Mann, the club’s vice-chairman, said: “Looking back, would we do it again? You bet we would. It was a fantastic experience for the club and Sky were superb partners to work with.

“The club gained real confidence from the whole experience and this confidence has real tangible results in that since Club Life we have replaced our practice nets and replaced our artificial wicket. This has been at considerable cost and I have no doubts that without Club Life we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this.

“The six episodes raised our profile and it was amazing how when we were talking to potential funders for these projects how many had seen Hadleigh Cricket Club on Club Life.

“We also gained increased sponsorship due to the TV coverage as more local businesses have got involved with the club. Sponsorship really helps a small club like ours and we were really pleased for the club’s main sponsor, Hadleigh Tyre Group, who featured quite heavily in the Sky coverage.

“It has also helped us on the pitch, particularly in our junior section. We are very close to having the ‘full up’ signs for our juniors now and this includes our girls’ section.

“When we started out on episode one we had a grand total of zero girls in our club now we have over 25 girls playing cricket which is a fantastic achievement.

“Coincidence, possibly, and we are very lucky to have a fantastic coaching team who have been outstanding in developing our junior section but I have no doubts the TV coverage helped!

“We also picked up some senior players of all ages after seeing us on the telly and that is never a bad thing!

“I would urge any club that gets the opportunity to work with Sky Sports to go for it. It is a great experience and will provide one-off memories for your club. I won’t ever forget the look on our players’ faces when Nasser Hussain walked down our pavilion steps.

“Memories are made of this.”