Micklehurst CC Launch Fundraiser To Replace Damaged Covers

Micklehurst Cricket Club have launched a fundraising page to generate funds to replace three damaged pitch covers.

Heartless vandals broke into Richmond Hill earlier this month and destroyed the covers in a mindless act of vandalism, causing more than £1,000 worth of damage.

The soul destroying blow arrived just two weeks before the season opener against Littleborough Lakeside in the Greater Manchester Cricket League, Division Two B.

In a bid to catch the perpetrators, club officials acted quickly after finding the destruction, reviewed the CCTV footage and shared the pictures onto their social media platforms.

Thankfully, the culprits came forward and confessed to their actions. Discussions are now ongoing with the perpetrators to find a solution to the issue.

Jonny, 38, wants to put the issue behind him and concentrate on leading his side to promotion in the GMCL Division Two B. Speaking to Reporter Sport, Jonny said: “It’s not great news and, unfortunately, it seems to be a common thing at the moment in Tameside.

“We’ve seen a lot of reports about young children thinking they’ve got the right to trespass onto clubs, break in, start fires and try to wreck valuable pieces of equipment.

“It’s not the best start to the season, although it’s one we will come through, however it is a setback.

“We’ll try and recoup as much as we can. I don’t think these people realise how their actions have massive financial implications, so we’ll do our best as a club to try and get as much money back towards the repairs as possible.

“We know what the weather’s like around here, the covers were bought for a reason and we need to get them fixed as soon as we can.

“The people responsible for the damage have openly admitted to it, so we’re hoping to get it boxed off and move on.”

Jonny led his side to victory on Sunday in a pre-season friendly against Flowery Field. After taking three wickets for 40 runs off eight overs, Jonny will be quietly optmistic about his personal aims and ambitions this season. However, his number one priority is to spearhead the first team to glory in a division that consists of Denton, Werneth and Oldham 2nd XI amongst others. He said: “We were unlucky last season not to get promoted, as the league decided to reduce the three promotion places to just the one halfway through the season. That was out of our hands, but we’re now concentrating on having a good season and hopefully achieve promotion.

“We’ve had good winter nets and we’ve recruited a few new faces, including a guy from the Caribbean, Shamar Marshal, a spin bowler, who should bring some great experience to the club. It’s always great for the juniors to have an overseas player in and around the club.

“Our junior sessions take place on Thursday evenings and last season we had roughly 50 or 60 kids, which we think is fantastic. In two or three years’ time we’ll have some good players coming through, but for now it’s about keeping them interested and helping them to want to play cricket.”

If you'd like to donate, head to the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/micklehurst-cricket-club?member=18698473&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer