How Two 2G Flicx Pitches Have Boosted Participation at Old Wimbledonians Cricket Club

Old Wimbledonians Cricket Club (OWCC) has seen a surge in participation across its junior section this season, thanks to the addition of two 2G Flicx Pitches. Cricket Development Officer Mark Pratt shares how these innovative roll-out pitches have transformed training, match opportunities, and strengthened school–club partnerships.

Supporting Junior Growth and Expanding Facilities

OWCC’s thriving junior section trains every Friday night, catering for players aged U9 to U14. However, with only two turf pitches and one non-turf pitch (NTP), there was limited opportunity for batting practice and match play.

To address this, the club invested in two 2G Flicx Pitches, providing flexible, high-quality playing surfaces that could be rolled out anywhere.

One pitch is based at the main Old Wimbledonians & Donhead Sports Ground, where it’s used to create two new nets and batting cages on the outfield. This setup has significantly increased training capacity, allowing coaches to give players more time to focus on batting technique.

“The bounce is good and predictable,” says Mark. “We know that with more preparation time it could be even better, but we’re very happy with the performance given how easy it is to set up.”

Strengthening School–Club Links

The second 2G Flicx Pitch is stored at Ursuline School (Morley Park Sports Ground) — a venue where OWCC has built a strong partnership. Initially, the collaboration began through installing indoor nets (with support from the Surrey Cricket Foundation), but has now expanded outdoors thanks to Flicx.

Because Morley Park is a public facility with heavy football usage, installing a permanent NTP wasn’t possible. The portable nature of the Flicx Pitch provided the perfect solution.

Mark and the junior team managers use the pitch split into two halves, enabling two junior games to be played simultaneously. For U8 and U9 six-a-side fixtures, this setup has doubled match capacity — OWCC can host both league and friendly games at the same time.

The school also benefits from access during the day, creating a virtuous circle of increased participation and stronger community ties. More children are playing cricket, and many go on to join the club, helping to grow OWCC’s junior membership from 125 five years ago to over 275 today.

Funding the Project

The process of securing funding through the Surrey Cricket Foundation was straightforward. Mark explains:
“It started with a simple phone call to our Cricket Development Officer, Paul. We then took advantage of Flicx’s End of Season Sale, which meant around half the cost was covered by the Foundation, with the remainder raised through generous club sponsors.”

For sponsors, the project ticked multiple boxes — improving facilities, strengthening school links, and increasing community engagement.

Performance and Benefits

The 2G Flicx Pitches have already delivered clear benefits:

• Improved outfield performance – good, predictable bounce even with minimal preparation
• Additional training capacity – new batting cages and practice areas relieve pressure on the main squares
• Extra match opportunities – two new pitches at Morley Park enable more fixtures each weekend
• Growth in participation – more players, more coaches, and more opportunities to play
• Enhanced school partnerships – Ursuline and OWCC collaboration expanding cricket access locally
• To support the new facilities, OWCC also added a scorers’ hut for storage and matchday operations.

Looking Ahead

Building on this season’s success, the club plans to host a mini junior festival next year, with up to four games played simultaneously using both Flicx Pitches. OWCC also hopes to develop links with another local school without a turf wicket — where a 2G Flicx Pitch could again open the door for more junior cricket.

“It’s a win–win,” Mark says. “The more opportunities we create for kids to play, the more they want to get involved — and the club continues to grow.”

Mark believes that sustainable participation relies on great facilities. With Flicx, OWCC now has the flexibility and capacity to keep expanding.

“Flicx customer service has been excellent throughout,” he adds. “The pitches have made a massive difference to what we can offer as a club.” “If anyone is thinking of buying Flicx Pitches, the use of them split into two batting ends for junior games is a huge benefit”