Reynald rebuilding with Cricket Shropshire help

Acton Reynald CC are celebrating after clinching promotion from MSG Shropshire League Division Seven after a successful season on the pitch.

The club is thriving once again, winning games on a Saturday, and with a vibrant junior section and a Women’s Softball side taking part in festivals during the Summer.

But the picture didn’t look as rosy a couple of years ago as the club had to drop its 2nd XI and found itself struggling to find 11 players on a Saturday.

That’s when Cricket Shropshire stepped in with help and guidance which has seen a revival of the club’s fortunes at their picturesque ground at Grinshill, north of Shrewsbury.

Richard Manby said: “Before covid, we were running two sides on a Saturday with the 1st XI competing in Division Four and then during the covid season we won the North Division the League set up, taking on the likes of Whitchurch.

“But then we lost a few players, the second team had to fold, and our pace bowling attack moved on to play in a higher league and we found ourselves struggling to get one team out on a Saturday.”

It got to the stage where they were struggling to get one side out on a Saturday – and they were close to being kicked out of the League for conceding too many games in a season.

Cricket Shropshire Lead Officer Steve Reese said: “We could see from the outside that there were issues at Acton Reynald, and we don’t like to see any of our clubs in trouble, so we made initial contact to see if we could help.”

Richard said the club’s first real involvement with the Board had come in a post-covid Zoom session which had been set up for ‘singleton’ clubs in the county – those with just one team.

“That was where the suggestion came that we launch a women’s team to start increasing the membership base at the club.”

With the struggles continuing in the 2022 season, the links with the Board again came to the fore with a meeting set up involving Steve and Community Coach Ryan Lockley.

It saw the Board help the club arrange some junior taster sessions during the Summer holidays and also help link up with other clubs in the area to encourage some loan signings to help get through the season.

Then a plan was drawn up for the club to launch All Stars and Dynamos sessions for youngsters in 2023 after Ryan had led engagements days at Primary schools in the local area supported by Richard and his wife Lesley.

That development of the Women’s team and the junior section has helped breathe new life into the club.

Lesley said: “The ladies have done really well – we never go to a festival without coming back with a least one win. There are now about 15 ladies on the books. We even had a club day trip to the England Women’s T20 international at Edgbaston.”

The club have again run All Stars and Dynamos sessions on a Wednesday night this year with 42 participants split between the two.

Lesley said: “We had seven members attend an Activator course during the Spring, which has led to additional support this year to help out which has been great from my point of view as I’ve been able to concentrate on setting up the next activity while they run the session with the children.”

This has all helped increase the membership and volunteer base at the club – something Richard and Lesley want to work on to increase even further.

Now they are also looking at how to continue the club’s development with transitioning some of the youngsters to hard ball cricket – with the possibility of playing some Under 11s Incrediball cricket in 2025.

They are planning to repeat their Family Festival which saw mixed teams of 5-80-year-olds playing a softball cricket tournament and are exploring options to improve facilities at the clubhouse.

Both acknowledge the huge impact the input from Cricket Shropshire has been on the club’s development in the past two years.

Lesley said: “Working with the Board has been amazing. We now feel like we have always got someone to go to for support. For example, the Board helped me sort out with DBS and governance.

“I would say to any club, if you have a problem, get in touch with the Board, the help they give is brilliant.”

Steve Reese said: “It’s great to see how Acton Reynald have progressed over the last couple of years. 

“This is all about getting the foundations right, you don’t build a house by starting with the roof. It is a similar strategy to making a sustainable club – focus on the bottom first, Juniors and families, build an environment where people want to keep coming back. 

“You don’t have to have the best facilities, as long as the environment is warm and welcoming it is surprising how this can begin to reap rewards.”

Contact the Board via info@cricketshropshire.co.uk

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