Nottinghamshire and England cricketer Samit Patel will be visiting Wolverhampton Cricket Club this Sunday (Sept 7) as part of an ECB initiative to boost cricket participation at recreational cricket clubs through the hosting of a Club Open Day, in partnership with Waitrose.
The Midlands club boasts a large Asian community and are hosting an inter-club England v India match (10am) with Patel later overseeing junior coaching sessions, encouraging locals to get into cricket.
This season will see almost 1,000 clubs hold a Club Open Day on England’s international cricket weekends. Each event is supported by Waitrose who are donating £100 worth of food and drink to clubs to help raise money from the event.
Representatives of the England Visually Impaired and Physical Disability squads will also visit the Club Open Day aiming to inspire new players locally to participate. Wolverhampton is one of over a hundred clubs across the country offering disability cricket opportunities.
A Lancashire Lions Visually Impaired team and Beacon Centre for the Blind will then take on a Wolverhampton XI (2pm) who will wear simulation spectacles and blindfolds.
Other entertainment on the day will see the NatWest International T20 against India from Edgbaston live on the big screen with the Sky Sports cameras present filming a feature on Open Days. Wolverhampton Wanderers Mascot “Wolfie” will also be in attendance.
Commenting on the event, Samit Patel said: “Open Days are all about cricket clubs opening their doors and raising some buzz in the local community. It’s a brilliant way to get people down to their local clubs and encourage them to play. I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone at Wolverhampton and working with the coaches to pass some tips to the youngsters that attend.”
Waitrose have further committed to developing the grassroots game by confirming that they will donate £100 to the ECB Charitable Trust for every four or six scored across the entire international summer. This includes every England men’s, England women’s, England Lions, England under-19s and England disability match, with resultant funds (estimated to amount to around £150k) being made available for cricket clubs to apply for a special grant from.
