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The directory of community and business organisations in Broadstone Dorset

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Broadstone Cricket Club

Broadstone Cricket Club, founded in 1888, has it's ground in Delph Woods which, when acquired in 1949, was a 4 acre patch of rough pasture. Prior to that a number of home grounds had been used including Broadstone Recreation Ground where things have come full circle as it is again the Club's home ground for the Saturday 3rd XI.

The Club is a Dorset County Focus Club, one of only 12, is Club Mark Accredited, is a Community Amateur Sports Club, has a Development Plan published, emphasizing it's commitment to providing and expanding cricket for the youth of the area, and it also has it's own website at broadstone.play-cricket.com. It has over 70 senior playing members and close to 100 junior players, the majority are from Broadstone itself and the nearby surrounding areas. The facilities now include a fine turf square, 4 lanes of practice nets, a non-turf pitch, sightscreens and covers and the new pavilion, opened in 2000. Funding has come from the Lottery, Sportsmatch and the Club's sponsors BDL Systems and Relec Electronics, a landfill tax credit scheme grant from Biffa, the ECB's Chance to Shine, Poole Borough Council, whose continuing support has been vital and, of course, the generosity of Club members and vice-presidents.

The Club boasts 5 senior elevens and 9 junior sides at all age groups from U9 to U15. There are plans to expand that further in 2007 with a second U14 side, an U16 side, a girls U13 side and a senior Saturday 4th XI. The 3rd and 4th XIs are aimed specifically to integrate the older junior players into senior cricket. Regular structured coaching for all age groups is a top priority and is run throughout the season both at the Delph and also at 6 local schools, expanding to 7 next year, via partnerships with those schools, plus winter coaching at Lytchett Manor. The Club's juniors also have teams in the winter indoor cricket leagues. The Club's team of 14 qualified coaches, 4 of whom are level 2 and two are level 3 qualified, the volunteer Junior Team Managers, and the support of parents makes this all possible. There are plans to expand that coaching and the number and the qualification level of the coaches in 2007.

This season, one of the best in the Club's history, saw the Saturday 1st XI achieve runners up spot in the Dorset Premier League. The 2nd XI were also runners up and are promoted to Division 1 leaving Broadstone as the only club in Dorset with teams in the County’s top two leagues. The 3rd XI were runners up too and are promoted to Division 7. The two Sunday XIs ended well up their respective leagues.

The juniors all did well with the U9s winning their league, the U10s winning the East Dorset Cup and being runners up in their league, the U11s were league runners up and cup semi-finalists, the U12s were 3rd and the other three age groups finished mid table.

The Club had 3 county and 12 district representative players at a number of junior age groups and 19 year old Ziggy Arshad selected for the Dorset Minor County Team.

Major plans are in the pipeline to continue the improvement in the already very good playing surface at the Delph, to expand the pavilion, which the Club has already outgrown, and to find a second home ground to accommodate the increasing number of teams and the demands for further junior cricket and coaching.

Senior and junior players, umpires, scorers, groundspersons, coaches, sponsors and supporters interested in joining the Club should contact Keith Brewer 01202 841824, David Martin 01202 695664 or John Stone 01202 848147.

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