Tim Walter has been a member of Guildford Cricket Club since 1979 – but never could he have been prouder of the achievements the club is currently enjoying.
A hugely successful summer was highlighted when the first XI won Division One of the Surrey Championship, but success runs deeper with the growth of women’s teams and more than 400 fixtures played last season.
Added to that, the club will have the rare honour of having helped produced three of the men’s Ashes squad that will tour Australia this winter – Shoaib Bashir, Will Jacks and Ollie Pope – Phil Salt in the England T20 team - while Alice Capsey could become a World Cup winner with England Women set for their semi-final against South Africa on Wednesday.
For Walter it is a source for much pride, and he believes there is even more to come, writing for ecb.co.uk to describe how the club continues to grow and highlighting the unsung heroes behind that success.
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As a sports club, we’re always looking to inspire our players. I’m 61 now and, looking back, Brian Ruby was the driving force behind giving young players a chance in the early 1980s, the first Surrey Championship club to push talent in large numbers. It was a privilege playing alongside was guys like Darren and Martin Bicknell, Ashley Giles, Rikki Clarke, and Jade Dernbach. They were all around my era.
Today, a new generation is leading the charge. I didn’t play with the latest crop of internationals Guildford CC has produced, but obviously I’ve seen them all come through, and I know everyone at the club is extremely proud of what they’ve achieved.
And there’s no doubt their success is having an impact on our club: this year, we’ve completed around 400 matches. It’s always been a busy club, but this is on a different scale. That’s largely down to our fixture secretary, Jo Watson. She’s an absolute diamond. Without her, it simply wouldn’t happen.
We’ve had a lot of success this year: titles for the men’s 1st XI (Division One Surrey Championship), men’s 4th XI (I’Anson League), the U12s, and the U11s. But we’ve had great years before, too. A few years back, our U13s and U15s both won the national championships. Out of 1,700 teams, that was a huge achievement. I remember Will Jacks and Shoaib Bashir contributing to the team’s success. Those were outstanding teams.
Our growth has been driven by several factors. With the men’s fourth, fifth, and sixth teams, it’s all about having captains who go the extra mile. Those teams are tough to run, but we’ve got people like Ahmed Hussain, who drives at that end of the club like nobody else. Without his efforts, we wouldn’t get the same participation. The sixth team usually only plays in school holidays when more kids are around, but we comfortably field four or five teams every week.
We’ve also made real progress in women’s cricket. We now have a Women’s Director of Cricket in Charley Teale, which has made a big difference. The senior women’s section has been running for around five years, but the extra energy and organisation recently have really helped. Alongside our new women’s development/pathway team, the Guildford Ravens, we’re making big strides forward.
Beyond our club, we continue to work hard on growing the game throughout Guildford. This year we again hosted the SCCC George Abbot academy matches, the I’Anson League cup finals day, a new MCC Foundation state school regional competition, and an Afghan Refugees v Guildford Police fixture.
The other area of growth has been with very young cricket. Our Director of Cricket Olly Birts (1st team captain) now runs Friday night sessions for U5s and U6s, filled mainly with state school pupils and with 40% of attendees being girls. Parents come down, have a barbecue, and watch their kids play. It’s become a great community event.
We’ve also invested heavily in our facilities. Our nets were about 15 years old, so we’ve just refurbished them with help from various grants and funding and great work from our chair James Geffen and our treasurer Rajeev Sanwalka driving the project, and we’re now close to finalising a permanent second ground with a local school.
The work on the square has already begun, and it’ll be a huge boost for our 3rd and 4th XIs, as well as junior matches.
The running costs of any club are substantial, and Guildford CC is hugely thankful to the tireless work of Chad Murrin (past chair) whose commercial acumen behind the scenes is second to none.
Why have I stayed so long? Well, the more you put into a club, the more you get out of it. Cricket clubs run on volunteers, and the sense of community and shared passion makes it worthwhile. Cricket goes beyond sport: it’s social, and it teaches teamwork, resilience, and belief, especially for kids. It’s more than just bat and ball. It’s the whole social package.
Cricket has always been my passion, and Guildford Cricket Club has been a huge part of my life. It’s not just about matches. It’s about the people, the memories, and the community that comes with it. Long may it continue.