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Bumper turnout for club's momentous day
Emma Cooling11 Jun - 12:39
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Club 'blown away' by support for Grand opening
Hundreds gathered in the sunshine on Sunday to enjoy the official opening of The Holt - our new home, created thanks to a mammoth community effort.
A crowd of around 500 witnessed the cutting of a giant ribbon on the balcony of the pavilion which was followed by the world premiere of a new fanfare by the quintet Brass Sounds.
Somerset cricket legend James Hildreth performed the ribbon cutting honour with the help of the club’s youngest and oldest playing members.
Lord and Lady Clinton and Nicola Lady Clinton, widow of the late Lord Clinton who was hugely supportive of the club, were among guests on the balcony for the ceremony.
As part of our commitment to disability cricket the day featured a demonstration by Somerset Visually Impaired cricket team in which players from our ladies' side donned sight-limiting goggles and tried out the sport with limited vision.
The day ended with a match between a specially selected team of Budleigh stalwart players versus a side made up of younger players titled Chairman’s XI vs The Otters in which James Hildreth played for the Chairman’s side.
Sunday marked the culmination of a huge effort by the club with tremendous
community support to create a modern hub for cricket that makes the sport
accessible to all, with two pitches and a state of the art clubhouse.
We left our old site in 2022 as part of a £27m Environment Agency scheme to breach the embankments of the River Otter in several places to allow it to reconnect to its original flood plains.
We moved to our new ground in 2023 with a marquee and containers as make
shift clubhouse and changing rooms until construction of the clubhouse
finished in November.
BSCC director and treasurer Andy Drodge said “We were blown away at the turn out for our grand opening. The support from the local community as well as our members was heart warming. We were blessed with stunning weather and the atmosphere throughout the day was full of energy. Special thanks to Lord and Lady Clinton as well as James Hildreth who opened the clubhouse. For those not able to stay until the end The Otters were successful in the cricket match against the Chairman’s select XI!”
A crowd of around 500 witnessed the cutting of a giant ribbon on the balcony of the pavilion which was followed by the world premiere of a new fanfare by the quintet Brass Sounds.
Somerset cricket legend James Hildreth performed the ribbon cutting honour with the help of the club’s youngest and oldest playing members.
Lord and Lady Clinton and Nicola Lady Clinton, widow of the late Lord Clinton who was hugely supportive of the club, were among guests on the balcony for the ceremony.
As part of our commitment to disability cricket the day featured a demonstration by Somerset Visually Impaired cricket team in which players from our ladies' side donned sight-limiting goggles and tried out the sport with limited vision.
The day ended with a match between a specially selected team of Budleigh stalwart players versus a side made up of younger players titled Chairman’s XI vs The Otters in which James Hildreth played for the Chairman’s side.
Sunday marked the culmination of a huge effort by the club with tremendous
community support to create a modern hub for cricket that makes the sport
accessible to all, with two pitches and a state of the art clubhouse.
We left our old site in 2022 as part of a £27m Environment Agency scheme to breach the embankments of the River Otter in several places to allow it to reconnect to its original flood plains.
We moved to our new ground in 2023 with a marquee and containers as make
shift clubhouse and changing rooms until construction of the clubhouse
finished in November.
BSCC director and treasurer Andy Drodge said “We were blown away at the turn out for our grand opening. The support from the local community as well as our members was heart warming. We were blessed with stunning weather and the atmosphere throughout the day was full of energy. Special thanks to Lord and Lady Clinton as well as James Hildreth who opened the clubhouse. For those not able to stay until the end The Otters were successful in the cricket match against the Chairman’s select XI!”
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