Moulton Harrox are looking forward to the 2021 season with relish and they’ve been boosted by captain Chris Beale having already made a significant century on the field.
The skipper has raised over £1,300 for the South Lincs and Border League side by running for 100 miles within 31 days, much of which took place on the field.
It’s helping to keep the club looking as good off the field as they did on it after the 1st XI came out on top in last year’s local mini-league following the 2019 promotion winning season.
And Beale hopes his century will be the first of many achieved by the club with the season due to start on April 10.
“It’s the first time I have done something like this, but as we have been starved of fundraising opportunities over the past 12 months, I had to think outside the box a little.
“My initial target was to raise £500 for the cricket club, but we smashed through this in around three days.
“I’ve been absolutely blown away by the support received by both members and non-members, who helped push us up to a final figure of £1,365.”
Moulton will now focus their attention on the upcoming season.
“We are shaping up nicely for 2021 with everything in place to kick off as soon as we are allowed to,” Beale continued. “Obviously it is a little difficult at the moment, as we would usually have begun indoor training by now, so we might have to be prepared to begin the season with only a few weeks of outdoor training.
“We have the same 1st XI group as last season when we did really well and won our mini league, however it is going to be much harder to maintain that over a 22-game season. We will be setting out with the intention of challenging for the title, which I think is achievable if we get off to a good start, however a top three finish would also be fantastic.
“The 2nd XI will be led by Mark Ramsden and I have no doubt they will also be competing in the top half of Division One and hopefully also aiming for a top three finish. We have a good squad of players now at the club which will enable us to compete across all teams.
“We will also be running a Sunday team in the Rutland Sunday League, in which we will be hoping to bring through some academy players to senior cricket.
“We have a thriving academy with 60 plus juniors playing from ages 7 to 15. We are hoping to grow this to 100 over the next 12 months if we can get the right infrastructure and coaches in place.
“We are always looking for new members and are keen to get as many involved in cricket as possible, whether than is juniors, seniors, coaches or beginners – we would love to hear from you.”
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