Do you play cricket or have been thinking about giving it a go? Holmesfield Cricket Club are on a recruitment drive and are looking to extend their junior and ladies teams. We spoke to club captain, Jimmy Pearson, to find out more.

Holmesfield Cricket Club (CC) needs you! 

The club, based on Cordwell Lane in Millthorpe, is on a recruitment drive and ia seeking players for its junior teams as well as its ladies team. With spring just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get involved, whether you’re a seasoned player or just looking to try something new. 

Holmesfield CC prides itself on its welcoming environment and has teams covering the under 9, 11, 13 and 15 age groups as well as a ladies team and two mens senior teams. The latter play in Division 3N (first XI) and Division 8 (second XI) of the Derbyshire County League and the club also has teams in the South Yorkshire Alliance Works Mid-Week Cricket League and Sunday Development League. Despite the seemingly competitive nature, it’s often anything but with a firm club emphasis on the fun aspect of the game.

“Five years ago we had one Saturday team and one midweek team,” said current club captain, Jimmy Pearson. “We’ve now got two Saturday teams, a Sunday team, midweek team, ladies team and junior teams as well – but we’re looking for more.”

Winter training for juniors currently takes place on Saturday afternoons at S20 The Boundary, an indoor cricket centre at Holbrook, which is owned and run by Jimmy. During the spring and summer, these sessions then move to Friday evenings at Holmesfield CC’s ground on Cordwell Lane. Juniors are invited to come along and give it a try, there’s no charge initially and all equipment is provided. Anyone who wants to keep attending can then join the club with annual subs priced at £130 a year. Seniors pay £144 and Ladies £50. 

“I think some people think there’s a big cost to junior cricket, which there isn’t really,” added Jimmy. “We provide the playing and offer flexible payment options if needed. We’re not looking to exclude anyone, we want people to play and enjoy it. It doesn’t matter about ability or what you wear.

“We have qualified coaches who run all the sessions and the emphasis is on enjoyment and development. I think on the senior side of things, it’s a bit more serious but we play in the right spirit, no-one gets berated for dropping a catch!”

Holmesfield CC pride themselves on having a clear pathway for juniors, many of whom now play for either the first or second XIs. 

Alongside the junior teams, Holmesfield CC are also part of the ECB All Stars scheme, a national programme for 5-8 eight year olds, which is aimed at introducing children to the sport, teaching them new skills, helping them make new friends and have a great time doing so. These sessions tend to run for eight weeks and is something the club will be hosting this year once again. 

“We had 60 kids last summer,” said Jimmy. “A lot of it is fun, there’s cricket in there, but it gets them running around for an hour and having fun.”

Holmesfield CC’s history can be traced back to 1905 and in that 120 years they have had numerous ground changes in that time. Starting on Millthorpe Lane, the club moved behind the George & Dragon in the 1920s then back into the valley to grounds on New Road and Cordwell Lane in the 1930s and post-war years. The club returned to Holmesfield to the Robin Hood in 1948 before moving to its current home in 1960. 

Documented for the club’s centenary, it was noted that: “In March 1960 a special AGM was held to consider a Mr R Fowler’s kind offer of the use of his field in Cordwell Valley ‘for as long as he was owner’.

“The meeting felt that the move would increase local support due to the popularity of Cordwell Valley as a tourist destination and also that the problem of the telegraph pole in the middle of the pitch could be overcome!

“The new ground was ready in June 1960 by which time Mr Fowler had become Club President and the Electricity Board had been approached (without success) with a request to remove the telegraph pole.”

Little is known of the club’s history prior to 1950, partly due to the burning of all records and scorebooks in the early 1950s by a previous club secretary following a disagreement. However, it is rumoured that prior to 1910 a Yorkshire team played on the ground at Millthorpe Lane and that a ladies team thrived in the 1930s. Written records date back to 1945 and the earliest known photo features the 1950 team. Much has changed since those days though the captaincy held by one T Pearson Snr in 1953 still resides with a Pearson today. Indeed, two and even three generations of Pearsons, Buttles, Barbers, Biggins and Fishers have appeared on scorecards since the 1940s.

It was family connections that first got Jimmy involved in the sport and the club. His Dad, Tom, has been an influential figure at Holmesfield CC over the years and is now Club President. 

“He’s put a lot into it, developing the club,” said Jimmy. “He helped with the new pavilion, which opened in 2005. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think the club would still be here.”

The social side of cricket plays a huge part at Holmesfield CC and the pavilion/clubhouse is a big part of that. During the spring and summer months it opens seven days a week, basically whenever training or competitive cricket is being played. With a fully licensed bar, it hosts regular theme nights and a barbecue every Friday.

Recent changes to the ground, which is largely maintained by Jimmy, include recently refurbished two-lane practice nets and there is still work to be done to complete a new second pitch as well as a new barbecue area. 

The Coldwell Lane ground is very much how you would picture village cricket; a picturesque setting, plenty of benches and picnic tables – they even have an annual game against a local vicar’s XI. 

But for the time being, and prior to the season starting, the focus is very much on boosting their ranks. 

“We’d love loads of kids to come,” said Jimmy. “Seven years ago we started our junior section up with one team and it’s snowballed from there. Now we’d like to boost that even further.”

If you already play cricket, or are thinking about taking it up, Holmesfield CC is a great place to start. They welcome all ages and abilities and have clear pathways to the senior teams. 

To find out more, call Jimmy Pearson on 07803 288200 or click here.