Up the 'wood!

The premier cricket club in Mansfield Woodhouse is Sherwood Cricket club. If you were to visit their Debdale park home during any weekend over the summer apart from the usual polite applause and willow on leather you will occasionally here the refrain ‘up the wood!’ for Sherwood is at the very heart of the sporting community of Woodhouse.

Despite the colliery that gives the club its name being closed for over 20 years its legacy remains in the form of cricket. The swimming baths that were created for the colliery has now been remained after its most famous graduate Rebecca Adlington. The cricket club is proud of its heritage and though the youngest members are not old enough to remember the mining days there is always someone on hand who can tell you the history of the old ground.

The club runs four teams split over the weekend two playing in the prestigious Bassetlaw League on a Saturday and two in the ever expanding and popular Mansfield and District League. Players of all ages compete and youth development is very much at the core of these endeavours. A strong group of young players has emerged and the future of the club has never looked so healthy.

One player who has been helped to develop not only as a player but as a coach is John Dryden, he joined the club when he was eight years old and hasn’t looked back since. “I’ve had some great laughs and enjoyed my time playing cricket here. I’ve received some fantastic opportunities to develop and really liked the commitment to help me become a level 2 coach.”

John is now at Durham University studying to become a teacher. His kwik cricket only lost one game last year and there is a group of young players who hopefully will be part of successful Sherwood teams in the future. This year will see some of them go on to play hard ball cricket in under 13 and 15 teams. Youngsters who want to play are encouraged to come down and give it a go.

Sherwood is a self-funded club and relies on the good will of players, family, supporters and sponsors to help fund the club both on and off the pitch. Over the last couple of years the facilities at the club have improved beyond measure with new nets, sightscreens, scorebox and covers making the club one of the best equipped in the area. The plans are not to stop there and make Debdale Park one of the best grounds in the county. This can only be achieved with your continued support.

If you would like to get involved there are a number of non-playing roles that are essential in the day to day running of the club from scorers to raffle ticket sellers.  

The preparations for the new season are well under way with plans for a NatWest Cricket Force day to get the facilities ready for the players and nets are due to start on 1st of March at the manor Sports Complex. If you fancy giving cricket a bash then Sherwood is the place to start.