Silchester Cricket Club celebrates sponsorship from Silchester Farm

Silchester Cricket Club was founded in 1842 but had struggled over the past few years, losing its Hampshire League Saturday team in 2019, before Covid had the club on the brink of selling off assets and calling it a day.

However, local dads in the village came together to create a friendly Sunday team, and on the back of this, a five-year development plan for the club was created. The plan to rebuild the club included introducing a youth policy for the first time in the club 181 year history.

READ MORE: Hampshire derby as first FA Cup qualifying round fixture announced for 'Stoke

The club now have a team playing under the badge in the Berkshire League 1 and this summer introduced the All Stars ECB programme for local five to eight years old, a huge success for 21 local children who joined in May and June 2023.

All of this would have not been possible if it was not for a very generous sponsorship received from a local business in Silchester.

Silchester Farm went up for sale in 2018, with Al and Carla Winsey moving into the farm. Five years later and the couple have made their mark in the Silchester area.

Silchester Farm is sponsoring the cricket club in the 2023 season (Image: Mark Paine, Canva)Al and Carla invested heavily in the farm, building an events venue and providing local employment, but have also invested and backed the village.

Donations and sponsorship have included support to the Pamber Beavers for a building refurbishment project, Tadley Junior Football Club, Silchester Village Hall, Silchester Choir, Silchester Fun Run, Phoenix Club, contributions to other local schools and groups for raffles plus free school trips for Silchester School to the farm for learning opportunities, which included tree planting.

SEE ALSO: Urgent appeal to find missing man last seen boarding train from Basingstoke

For the 2023 cricket season, Al and Carla agreed to sponsor the Silchester cricket team, and Silchester Farm donated £1,000 towards the club, which has helped purchase more equipment for children and to provide the Sunday team with new players' shirts.

Club member Paul Hearn said: "In these tough financial times, the cost of running any cricket club, maintaining the equipment and keeping the square to a high standard has seen huge increases in costs and without our sponsors we would struggle to keep this historic old club going, so we are indebted to all our sponsors but in particularly to Al and Carla for their support.

"I for one look forward to the next five years with Al, Carla, the kids and the amazing team at Silchester Farm."

Al from Silchester Farm said: "We are delighted to sponsor Silchester Cricket Club. For us this is not just an investment in the team, it’s a chance to invest in the heart of our community. It is important for us to embed ourselves and our values into the local village offering our support wherever we can.

"It has been a privilege to meet Paul and the club members and understand exactly what the club is offering to our local residents, and we hope to maintain a close relationship supporting each other in the future with our young children now part of the brilliant, junior club - All - Stars ‘grass roots’ team.