SPCC receives third donated Flicx Pitch thanks to Surrey Cricket Foundation partnership

Southwark Park Cricket Club has become the third cricketing project in Surrey to benefit from a free 2G Flicx Pitch thanks to the developing partnership between Flicx UK and the Surrey Cricket Foundation. One pitch is donated by Flicx for every 10 sold in the county (to clubs and state schools) and in the past 3 years, 3 pitches have been awarded to vital projects in the county upgrading cricket facilities and creating additional opportunities to grow the game.

After Fullbrook School (April 2021) and Valley End Cricket Club (June 2022), Southwark Park has recently become the latest beneficiary of a portable, roll out wicket which helping to facilitate more cricket in the park specifically tapping into the success the club has had with its Allstar and Dynamo programmes and the introduction of women’s and girls softball cricket. To mark the event SPCC ran a cricket festival on Saturday with the whole club showcased to the local community. Investment in SPCC has included some cricket nets and a new NPT and the club has plans to grow further which would require support from the council to improve the grass surface at the park to make it more suitable for cricket matches and training.

The new 2G Flicx Skills Pitch at SPCC means that youngsters can have a more realistic cricket experience in the park plus the club can create two extra cricket nets for training. In time the young players participating in cricket for the first time will be able to upskill their batting and bowling using the coloured targets and hawk eye strip.

This latest donation from Flicx UK takes the in kind donation value to well over £10,000 and speaking about the projects that have benefited, Marketing Manager Kate Costin believes they will have a transformational impact “The three programmes that have received a pitch so far have all been hugely worthwhile projects and well selected by Simon Hards and his team. Fullbrook School are now able to host hard ball cricket matches at the school, Valley End is doing amazing work in becoming a hub for disability cricket and there is such potential for SPCC to further engage with their local community especially young people and to achieve their aim of making the park an urban cricket hotspot which is so vital in its location”

Why clubs and schools in Surrey are investing in Flicx Pitches

With the growth in the number of teams and players, 2G Flicx Pitches are helping solve pitch challenges for a number of clubs. 2G Flicx Pitches mean you can maximise the space you have available and host 4 junior games simultaneously on the outfield where the Flicx surface gives good pace and bounce creating a better standard of matches and training. The same pitch has so much versatility with users able to move the pitch indoors for winter nets, split them in half for two extra training nets and even use them in different venues to engage the local community in cricket.

‘We are extremely proud of the work we have done with Flicx over the past 5 years, supporting a range of schools and clubs to access funds to purchase the 2G Flicx Pitch in partnership with Flicx. This has enabled us to support the development of new places to play the game in a range of settings, supporting a wide and diverse range of people. As part of our partnership we recently received a 3^rd pitch to donate to a worthy project, and Southwark Park CC was the obvious candidate.

Southwark Park CC is right in the centre of one of the most diverse cities in the world and supports cricket for a wide range of people from youngsters participating in ECB’s All Stars programme to adults playing friendly cricket on the club’s London Cricket Trust funded non turf pitch. Their new Flicx pitch will support the club to be able to provide more competitive games of cricket for its junior members as the club continues to thrive, proving that cricket at Southwark Park CC is for everyone.

We look forward to continuing to work closely with Flicx for the foreseeable future and thank them for their ongoing support.’

Simon Hards – Assistant Director of Cricket Participation

Opportunities for other County Boards

With the cost of maintaining a natural turf wicket running into the tens of thousands of pounds per season as well as hundreds of volunteer hours work; combined with the higher cost and limitations of a fixed NPT solution, 2G Flicx Pitches are playing a unique role in growing participation and opening up new venues for cricket. Flicx is supporting a number of events with County Boards including schools, disability, tapeball, beach and women / girls festivals and we are keen to work with other county boards on a similar “in kind / donation model” as Surrey so for more information, do contact Kate Costin on 01295 186765 or email kate@flicx.com