Jefferson joins Clumber Park for NatWest CricketForce

14 April 2008

Will Jefferson (far right) and Alex Hales join volunteers at Clumber Park

Will Jefferson, the England Lions and Nottinghamshire batsman brought his great height - and his DIY skills - to bear at Clumber Park CC as part of the 2008 NatWest CricketForce.

DIY skills come in handy

Will teamed up with county colleague Alex Hales to help with giving the old thatched pavilion a spring clean and his 6' 10" frame came in handy in painting the sightscreens and boundary fences while at 6'5", Hales also proved useful.

The pair were also on hand to help unveil the Club's second ground, which was recently completed to allow the juniors and the Third XI and Fourth XI to play their home matches at Clumber Park instead of nearby grounds at Ranby and Worksop College.

Volunteers receiving their instructions

To mark the opening, a Twenty20 game was played on an artificial pitch against the National Trust which owns the picturesque cricket ground just outside Worksop.

Clumber has over 200 junior members at Kwik, U11’s/12/13/15 and U18’s and plays an active part in the community and local sports programme. Four years ago, it became the first club in Nottinghamshire to be awarded ECB ClubMark accreditation and it became a Focus Club shortly after.

Clumber Park CC changing rooms

It enters four senior teams in the Bassetlaw and District Cricket League and on Sunday’s plays league cricket in the Newark Alliance League but continues the traditions of social cricket which is how it started.

Clumber Park chairman Michael Beard said: “The expansion will help us improve our sense of community by enabling our third and fourth XIs to play in the Park, and also provide a more flexible programme for our flourishing junior section.

“We’ve worked very closely with the National Trust and our sponsors to raise the funds to enable this to happen, and we’re very grateful for their support."

Clumber Park was one of 22 community clubs in Nottinghamshire who registered to take part in NatWest CricketForce 2008.