Caddick can show craft at Bude

4 April 2006 | By Giles Mole

Andy Caddick will be lending his support to Bude on Sunday

Andy Caddick can expect to hone his craftsman’s skills as Bude North Cornwall Cricket Club prepare for the arrival of NatWest CricketForce 2006 on Sunday, April 9.

The Crooklets Cricket Ground is just one of many around the country that will benefit from the volunteering initiative aimed at rejuvenating the nation’s cricketing facilities.

Former England international Caddick and Cornwall captain Tom Sharpe will attend the gala day in Bude, and chairman Richard Long is confident it will be a weekend to remember.

“It’s all going very well so far,” Long told ecb.co.uk. “I think we’re into the home straight.

“On Saturday we will be at the ground re-doing the driveway with diggers specially donated. This will also enable us to maintain the pitch and re-seed for the new season. It’s all about ground preparation work for the new season.

“Then on Sunday, the main event, the work will mostly focus on the pavilion and the scorebox.

“We are going to try to install electricity in the scorebox and are fortunate to have been donated a Daktronics scoring system, who are working in partnership with the ECB.”

So far the club has been inundated with volunteers, with the turn-out expected to run into three figures, and even one or two local celebrities may make an appearance.

“We have plenty of people wanting to help,” Long continued. “John Harris, who is a former First Class umpire will be coming and we are hopeful he may bring Dave Shepherd with him as he lives in Devon. Fingers crossed they may do a bit of umpiring and even a spot of painting.”

Thus far the money raised for refurbishments to the ground has been very promising and with the likes of Caddick lending his support, the figures should rise even further.

“Donations have been very promising. So far we have raised about £6-7,000,” Long added. “We did a bit of spade work last year to get ourselves on the radar and we have received a lot of help from local businesses and the ECB.

“We are all excited about Andy Caddick coming here. We found out that while he was a junior at Somerset making his way through the ranks he was also a qualified carpenter, and did a bit of work at Taunton, so we were thinking of asking him whether he wanted to have a go at some carpentry in the scorebox.

“There will also be plenty of kids there playing cricket, probably 90-100 of them, and they would love it if he gave them a bit of coaching and saw them play.

“The interest levels in the project have been tremendous. The local council and the district council have all got involved, and even the scouts and schools who are making a video diary of the event.”