A Focus On… Richmond Cricket Club
Tonight sees the first ever Middlesex Cricket Women’s League (MCWL) representative match, with a side selected from players who play for eleven of the MCWL’s member clubs. The game is being played at Richmond Cricket Club.
As a club, Richmond have hosted high profile Middlesex matches since 2000. Middlesex have played a number of t20 matches at Old Deer Park, as well as some One Day games towards the start of the millennium. Middlesex’s first ever home t20 match was held at Richmond, in June 2003, and the last two games were sold out to 4,000 spectators.
How has women’s cricket grown at Richmond?
This evening’s game will be the first women’s representative game to be held at Old Deer Park, another proud moment for the club. This is the first season that Richmond have had a Women's team who are playing league cricket, after playing some friendlies last year. This has created a clear pathway for the girls’ section, which started in 2010, for them to grow and continue to play cricket when they are older. There are currently seventeen girls playing county age group cricket from the club, for both Middlesex and Surrey, with the future of the women’s team looking to be heading in the right direction. Richmond CC has recently appointed Sarah Blythe-Wood as the Director of Women and Girls’ Cricket, with her role focusing on driving Women and Girls’ cricket to grow the game in all areas. Being asked to host the game was another forward step for the club, with the hope that many women and girls are able to attend the match.
What else happens at Richmond?
The club has two main grounds where they play their games, with top quality pitches and net facilities at both sites. This is supported by a strong coaching programme led by ex-Middlesex player Adam London, with a large number of coaches enabling the junior section to flourish.
In the summer weeks there are junior fixtures at the ground almost every night, with Friday nights being a hub of excited activity. When the sun is shining it is a lovely place to be to end a week with everyone in the club looking forward to the weekend fixtures. The whole club is well represented in their five Saturday XIs, with juniors and women joining the men in the sides.
What next?
The game is free to attend and will be an entertaining evening, with players from eleven different clubs representing the MCWL. The game will be covered on the Middlesex Cricket Participation Team’s social media accounts, so if you cannot attend then make sure you keep up to date with the scores!
We would like to thank the team at Richmond for their contribution and wish them good luck for the rest of the season. You can find more information about the club on their website.
