Let there be Light

Throughout the year Burnley Cricket Club play’s host to Cricket and Football fans alike. With two inside bars and an outside bar. A lot of these fans enjoy using our balcony to get a good vantage point.

In the past the top bar has been dark because of boards blocking the light, and the temperature hot or cold depending on the outside weather and the state of the old window frames. With no small windows to open during hot weather the top bar could get extremely hot.

During this winter / spring time we are having some much needed renovations done and phase 1 of the project is now complete. New double glazed windows on the top bar fitted by Perfectly Glazed and new cladding to help heat retention, plus new double doors and opening windows to assist with ventilation in warmer weather (I know we don’t get much but here’s hoping)

Funding towards all the work being done has been has been provided by ‘The Lancashire Environmental Fund’, and we at Burnley Cricket Club are very thankful for this. It will benefit our local customers, Cricket fans from all over the league and football fans from near and far a like.

The fund is a partnership between SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK Limited, Lancashire County Council, The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and Community Futures.

The next phase of the project will see improvements to the main entrance of the building. This is the first thing new customers see and a much needed area for renovation. This work will be beginning shortly.

Jay's Community Efforts

One of our Juniors Jay Barnes is raising funds for community food banks whilst going through his Duke of Edinburgh award.

The money will go to The Message Trust who are a charity tackling issues faced by the whole communities of today.

“Community Groceries are all about bridging the gap between supermarkets and foodbanks. Using surplus food fresh from local supermarkets, our groceries make the cost of the weekly shop more affordable. Members can come and shop for just £4 – saving up to £20 per shop – getting all the food they need for their family.

But it’s about more than food. We also provide members with free wrap-around support and access to courses too. Courses include debt management support through CAP, cooking lessons, investigating Christianity courses and Alpha courses, plus many more.”

You can use the link on this blog to donate and also find it on our social media channels Jay Barnes is fundraising for The Message Trust (justgiving.com) Congratulation Jay

2022 CHAMPIONS

In the final day of the 2022 season, Burnley 2nd XI were away at Lowerhouse CC. Their closest rivals for the league were Clitheroe CC who were away at Colne CC.

Lowerhouse won the toss and elected to bat in the game against Burnley. They got a total of 181/8 off 45 overs with both George Durkin (58) and Declan Metcalf (60) scoring over 50. Wickets taken by Matthew Thornton (3) Muhammad Sudees (2) Daniel Whittle (1) Ben Sutcliffe (1) and Steve Brunt (1)

Clitheroe won the toss and elected to field. Colne then put on 194/9 off their 45 overs with T Jamie scoring 60 and wickets taken by G Barney’s (4), T Thurnhill (2) L Murphy (2) and B Geelan (1)

After teas were finished both teams took to the field to go for the glory.

Burnley lost 1 wicket quite early on putting them at 5/1 when Matthew Tomlinson was dismissed, but then Burnley put on an impressive batting performance getting up to 186/5 in 35.3 overs thanks in part to an impressive 96 from 77 balls by Gareth Halley.

In Clitheroe’s second half they only managed 50 all out in 19.3 overs

Burnley therefore got 10 points and Clitheroe 0 points

Burnley 2nd’s bringing the title home!

Congratulations to all involved

All figures taken from Play-Cricket.com

https://burnley.play-cricket.com/website/results/5000283

Burnley Ladies Make the Final

After getting through the quarter finals the Burnley Ladies went into the T20 Finals day on Sunday 4th September at Northern CC. Also in the draw were Blackpool, Leyland and Sefton Park.

The draw was to take place at 9:45am. Burnley got drawn with Sefton park and Blackpool were to play Leyland.

Burnley and Sefton Park kicked off the action at 10:30am. Sefton Park batted first and put on a score of 111/3. Burnley ladies stepped up to the plate and reached this target with 2 overs to spare, putting themselves into the final.

Blackpool and Leyland then took to the pitch and Leyland reached 95/8, Blackpool finished at 98/7 giving Blackpool the win.

The final took place at 2:45pm, Burnley vs Blackpool.

Blackpool batted first putting on a score of 122/5. Burnley went out and put on 108/8 in their 20 overs, falling 14 short of their target giving Blackpool the win.

We are incredibly proud of the Burnley ladies for how far they went in this competition. CONGRATULATIONS LADIES

Clubmark Accreditation Achieved

Here at Burnley Cricket Club are delighted and proud to announce that we have achieved Clubmark Accreditation once again. We continue to provide a safe and inclusive environment for Adults, Boys and Girls.

If you want to understand what this means, we have posted below the relevant information from the Clubmark website.

In 2004 CLOK was one of the first two orienteering clubs in the UK to achieve Sport England's Clubmark accreditation.  We have since renewed our accreditation in 2008, 2012, and most recently in 2016.

The Sport England Clubmark scheme is the universally acknowledged cross-sport accreditation scheme for ommunity sports clubs.  It stands for:

• Higher standards of welfare, equity, coaching and management in community sports clubs.

• Making sure the nation's sports club infrastructure is safer, stronger and more successful.

Clubmark accreditation shows that a club provides the right environment which ensures the welfare of members and encourages everyone to enjoy sport and stay involved throughout their lives.  An accredited Club is recognised as a safe, rewarding and fulfilling place for participants of all ages as well as helping parents and carers know that they're choosing the right Club for their young people.

For more information about the Clubmark scheme, you can visit the Sport England web site.

Clubmark accreditation – and the right to display the Clubmark logo – are awarded to sports clubs that meet the relevant standards.

In recognition of CLOK's orienteering development work with schools over the previous two decades, in early 2003 British Orienteering invited CLOK – together with Nottingham Orienteering Club (NOC) – to participate in a pilot scheme for Clubmark.  With significant support from Tees Valley Sport, particularly in terms of giving CLOK members access to relevant training courses, CLOK was granted Clubmark accreditation.  CLOK and NOC were both presented with Clubmark certificates at the BOF AGM in Ulverston on Saturday, 10th April 2004.  Accreditation lasts for four years, and CLOK's Clubmark accreditation has been reviewed and extended in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and now lasts until 2020.

As part of the process of obtaining Clubmark accreditation, CLOK has committed itself to meeting the relevant standards and implementing a number of key policies.  These are inherited from British Orienteering best practice and policy, including:

• Child Protection

• Protecting Young and Vulnerable Adults

• Accident Report Form

• Safety Guidelines

• Consent and Medical Form

• First Aid Advice

• Parents Code of Conduct

• Club Officials and Volunteers Code of Conduct

Also see the following key documents for CLOK:

• CLOK constitution

• Descriptions of key roles within CLOK

You can also follow this link to view a summary of CLOK's 2016 renewal application.

Click here to go to the CLOK home page.

Partnership Extension

Burnley Cricket Club are delighted to announce a 3 year extension of their partnership agreement with The Boohoo Group. This means that the ground will continue as the Boohoo.com Turf Moor Stadium and the significant support to the Boohoo Junior Cricket Academy, helping both boys and girls cricket, will remain. The Boohoo Group’s support and sponsorship has been a hugely positive influence on the development of Burnley Cricket Club’s junior section.

Neil Catto, Group CFO at The Boohoo Group said:

“We are delighted to extend this partnership. Burnley Cricket Club is a key part of the community, and we are very pleased to see, in particular, its boys and girls section go from strength to strength.”

Worsley Cup Draw: Colne - Home - 29th May

Big Duncy Warburton and his mates have shuffled the balls and done the draw.

And it’s a mini-derby!

Worsley Cup

Burnley v Colne

boohoo.com Turf Moor

29th May 1pm

NEWSFLASH! The LCF Cup: Burnley vs Bawali Shreef - 23rd May at boohoo.com Turf Moor

NEWSFLASH!

The LCF Cup game versus Bawaly Shreef will now be played at boohoo.com Turf Moor, on 23rd May. It’s a 45 over game and stumps are pitched at 1 o’clock.

Our Third XI have a rearranged game at Todmorden that day too.

Joe Fletcher Funeral Details (including webcast login info)

Whilst many of us would love to pay our respects to our dear friend, the roadmap out of lockdown still only allows 30 attendees at a funeral.

If you would like to bid farewell to Joe Fletcher, here are a couple of ways to do so on Tuesday 11th May:

Funeral Procession

The procession will leave Highfield Avenue at 1pm. It will pass Burnley Cricket Club at approximately 1.10pm on the way to Burnley Crematorium for a service with family.

Accessing the Service Online

You will need to visit the following link on Tuesday 11/05/21 at 13:45.

https://www.wesleymedia.co.uk/webcast-view

Login / Order ID: 94351

Password: yyuqgxfd

If you experience issues, please call 01536 314 890.

If you’d like to contribute to Joe’s obituary, please leave a comment on this page.

Joe Fletcher Obituary (1940-2021)

If you’ve played at Burnley Cricket Club in the past half a century, there’s no doubt you’ve been influenced in some way by Joe Fletcher. The club’s leading wicket-taker, who died, this week, after a long battle with illness.

To be more accurate, rather than just if you’ve played down the club; if you’ve ever enjoyed watching an exciting spell of seam, swing or pace bowling by someone in a Burnley shirt; that bowler will most-likely have benefited from Joe’s influence.

Be it close management and coaching for those who were looking for it, or the odd word here and thoughtful question there; Joe was always around. Ever-looking to help people improve their game.

His authority was unquestionable.

With 703 wickets, Joe is the club’s leading amateur wicket taker. What’s more, they were taken at a very miserly 2.69 economy rate.

His skill is legendary. In fact, those who watched and played with him said he would have had even more wickets, if only the amateur batters had been good enough to get an edge on the ball more often.

Growing up at BCC as a bowler trying to learn the art of swing and seam bowling, Joe was the benchmark to strive for.  Not that many achieved it, of course, perhaps a certain James Anderson.

Joe said that, ‘Too much swing is a bad thing. It’s better to move it by only half a bat’s width. That’s how you get them caught behind.’ Which explains why ‘Caught Richardson Bowled Fletcher’ was such a common scorebook entry, over the years.

When he was bowling in tandem with Charlie Griffiths, there can’t have been many better opening partnerships at club level, anywhere in the world.

Joe, end of the back row, on the right, in the 1964 Lancashire League title winning side.

Keeping the game simple was his approach.

As a child, he’d draw a small circle on the wall at the height of the top of off-stump and bowl a tennis ball at it until he hit the circle six times in a row. Again and again. Honing his metronome consistency that would pay off in later years.

As a coach and Third XI manager, his mantra was ‘hit the top of off’ and ‘bat the overs.’ When he won the Third XI league title as manager, in 2006, the single game that his team lost all season was also the only time it got bowled out. It was also the only game Joe was absent, due to attending a family event.

But all these statistics and stories, impressive as they are, still don’t tell the full character of the man. Stubborn and steadfast when he knew he was right on what would improve your game. Dedicated and hard-working to help you get better and improve, if you showed an ounce of willing.

But all this doesn’t show the fun-loving and humorous side of Joe. The passionate and caring coach, stood behind the nets or down at third man. Always wanting to help anyone who loved cricket and his beloved art of bowling. Especially the next generations.

If you were a youngster looking to make your way into the senior teams, he’d willingly cast his eye over your game. Pulling you to one side and offering advice. Ever willing to do a drill or even throw down some balls if you asked.

Or even just share one of his countless tales from yesteryear, laughing with that amazing toothy smile.

All the stories that have been shared about Joe on WhatsApp, this week, have a consistent theme.

Just as likely as he was to teach you how to respect the game and the opposition, he’d also teach you to respect yourself. To not get carried away when things were going well and how to pick yourself up when things weren’t going too great.

That’s why he doesn’t just leave behind a rightly proud son, Andrew, and the rest of his family; but generations of his extended family down at the club.

Great spell, Joe. Have a rest.

Should you wish to share your condolences, please leave a comment below…

THE TEAM SHEETS ARE IN (AND INFO ABOUT SPECTATING)

Cricket is back and it looks like the snow isn’t going to scupper us like last weekend. You might have caught them on Twitter but here are our teams for a bumper opening weekend of the season. Below that, important information for if you’re looking to attend the best beer garden in Burnley this weekend…

Team news

Ron Singleton Trophy vs Darwen (H) | Saturday 17th April 1pm

1. Pickup

2. Burton

3. Tripathi

4. H Tomlinson

5. Marshall

6. Shah

7. Lalor

8. Bailey

9. Lamb

10. Brunt

11. Erasmus

3rd XI vs Enfield (A) | Saturday 17th April 1pm (meet at noon)

1. Whittle

2. Sutcliffe

3. Harrison

4. Metcalf

5. Holding

6. Hepke

7. Clegg

8. Greenwood

9. Syed

10. G Scott

11. Rebanks

Lancashire League 1st XI vs Rochdale (A) | Sunday 18th April 1pm

1. Pickup

2. Burton

3. Tripathi

4. CJR Holt

5. Marshall

6. H Tomlinson

7. Shah

8. Lalor

9. Roberts

10. Bailey

11. Erasmus

Lancashire League 2nd XI vs Rochdale (H) | Sunday 18th April 1pm

1. Thornton

2. M Tomlinson

3. Lamb

4. Whittle

5. Hargreave

6. Tate

7. Holding

8. Brunt

9. Zore

10. Wasi

11. Sutclife

Important information for people wanting to visit the club this weekend

We are working in line with ECB directive:

✔️ you can come on as long as you use our hospitality (tea room, bar) with TABLE SERVICE ONLY for all hospitality
✖️you cannot bring your own refreshments
✖️ you cannot watch from your car
✖️ NO spectators allowed.

Know a junior who wants to get into cricket? (Sign-up info here)

Interested in cricket? We welcome boys and girls aged 5-8 to introduce you to cricket. Sign up on the below link and look forward to seeing you in the summer. ️

https://ecb.clubspark.uk/AllStars/Course/61c87def-4607-4e7a-a9a4-00a95801edf1

Are you aged 8-11 and want to try cricket? Please sign up here for any boys or girls interested. We already have our first Dynamos sign ups!

https://ecb.clubspark.uk/Dynamos/BookCourse/34e4f88f-6a4f-4b91-9055-a28f57f07281

Thanks

Brunty

We've got a new club shop

We’ve got caps, tracksuits, bench coats, polos, fleeces, WATER BOTTLES and even some cricket kit. Including helmets and ladies-cut playing shirts.

Big thanks to Ribble Wealth Management for sponsoring our senior match shirts and Boohoo for sponsoring our junior match shirts.

Here are some of our favourite bits you can buy from the club shop…

A mask to show the world you’re not a moron because you keep yourself and others safe AND support the best cricket team in town.

A very smart looking polo shirt. That’ll look good in the bar.

A tech fleece. Whatever that means.

One of those trendy baseball caps for all the absolute ballers out there.

Buy your BCC merch, kit and teamwear over on the online club shop.

Please note: Senior players should buy the Ribble Wealth Management shirt and Junior players should buy the Boohoo shirt.

Senior players, buy this one with Ribble Wealth Management on.