A few days ago, our Chairman was privileged to represent the club at the funeral of our esteemed Vice-President Peter Dutton.  Peter was simply a lovely chap, very easy to spend time with, always ready with a quip, and a great storyteller. Peter’s funeral was a tribute to a long and rich life of almost 91 years. A proud Cestrian born and bred, a King’s scholar and a former Chester City F.C. goalkeeper, Peter’s professional and sporting achievements were many and varied. Most cricketers will remember Peter as a cricket umpire. Respected, unflappable and cool under pressure, Peter was widely acknowledged as one of the foremost umpires on the circuit. That he never gave the Chairman out LBW is further testimony to his impeccable judgement. Many at Little Heath will know Peter’s son Ian (Dutts) who is a staunch current Vice-President as well as a former player. Our sincere best wishes go out to the whole Dutton family for their loss- Peter’s cheerful presence is one that we will all miss at Little Heath.

All members and friends of Christleton CC have been deeply saddened to hear of the recent death of our esteemed club President, Mr Gareth Davies.

Gareth was a staunch and proud South Walian, always hugely proud of the culture of his native roots: family, language, chapel and rugby. A teacher by profession, Gareth commanded respect, demanding the highest of standards. Many times over the years, various club members have been asked, ‘Is that Mr Davies?’ a confirmation prompting the visiting former pupil to provide recollections of Gareth in his pomp, such stories being told with real warmth and gratitude.

At our club, he leaves a legacy of over 50 years of committed involvement. Older members remember him as a doughty opening batsman plying his trade on the old ground. Many more will remember him as our club umpire, with a spare mint in his pocket at square leg and telling players in every game, ‘That’s 17 overs in the first hour gentlemen- well done.’ Sometimes there were more than 17 overs to Gareth’s delight, but disapproving looks followed if you were slow. Games ran smoothly.

More recently, Gareth has filled the roles of club Chairman and club President with skill and commitment, both for over 10 years. He was honoured to be ‘Mr President’ but really the honour was ours. Gareth was a true one club man, and his thoughts were never far from the club.

Our deepest sympathy is extended to Gareth’s sons Owain and Huw, and to their wider families. All at Christleton have benefitted in many ways from Gareth’s contribution to our club and he will be remembered with the greatest affection.

The Club is pleased to announce that we will now be offering seated outdoor hospitality when football and cricket matches are scheduled from 16th April 2021. This of course is conditional on strict Governments guidelines and although seated hospitality is available, no casual spectators are permitted to watch football or cricket matches at Little heath until at least 17th May 2021.

Hospitality – what you need to know

• Do not attend Christleton Sports Club if you or any member of your immediate household/support bubble are showing symptoms of  COVID-19.
• Max table occupancy is 6.
• Max covers 50.
• You MUST check in with NHS Test and Trace using the QR code made available. A manual Test & Trace record will be available for those who cannot use the NHS app.
• Table service only.
• Card payment is preferred.
• No movement of tables permitted.
• Toilets are available in the Clubhouse. Observe the one way system, where entry to the Club house is through the ‘players entrance’. 
• Masks MUST be worn at all times when in the Clubhouse when using the toilet facilities.
• Tables cannot be used solely for watching the sport, beverage purchase is required. 
• No booking system is in place, so if a table is not available you will be given an estimated time when one is available then asked to leave the premises until such time.

Christleton Sports Club have completed a full risk assessment in operational readiness for Step 2 of the Government’s road map out of COVID-19 lockdown. The risk assessment is available here and hard copies available in the Clubhouse.

Senior League cricket returns to Little Health on Saturday 17th April, however it is important to understand that in order to conform to current UK Government step 2 of their road map out of lockdown we must advise the no spectators will be able to attend any scheduled senior cricket fixtures until at least the 17th May. 

Only players, match officials and nominated club officials are permitted to be in attendance whilst the game is in play.

If you are a parent or carer of an U18 playing in a senior fixture then one parent or carer can attend for as long as is necessary to support the U18 under their care. Information prior to the commencement of junior cricket is to follow.

For the full ECB guidance for cricket during step 2 please refer to the ECB guidelines

Christleton Cricket Club thank you for your understanding of these guidelines. A further announcement regarding hospitality at the Club will be released on or before Friday 16th April.

With the anticipated return to grassroots team sports from March 29th, we anticipate and are excited to believe there will be a full summer of cricket in 2021. As such we have published our subscription fees for 2021 with links to an electronic payment with Go Cardless.

Membership 2021

Christleton Cricket Club are excited to announce that in partnership with the fantastic Jamie’s Cricket Academy we are offering 3-day cricket camps at Little Heath. The camps are for boys and girls aged 7-13 years of age and cater for those new to the sport and existing players. Read more here…Summer camps 2020

GD 12 matches would have taken place on the iconic date of 4th July and we send the warmest of greetings to our readers in the USA.

This big news arrived from the ECB on Friday 3rd July at 19:01…

We are delighted that the UK Government has given the green light for recreational cricket in England to return from Saturday July 11.
The latest update from the UK Government signals progression from Step 3 to Step 4 of ECB’s roadmap to return for the recreational game, meaning competitive cricket matches in England with adjustments to respect hygiene and social distancing would be permitted.
ECB has maintained a constant dialogue with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) throughout this process and the UK Government have stated that COVID-secure guidance will be published in the coming days.
Guidelines are already prepared for the return of recreational cricket and following the Prime Minister’s comments, will now be finalised and published early next week. READ MORE ON PAGE 2…..

Lockdown newsletter week 12

The halfway point of the season has arrived. There is still no match action to report as yet and no mention of cricket getting any more green lights in this week’s round up of things we can do again. The week has been a busy one on the administrative front with a swathe of new safeguarding policies being updated. Many thanks to Safe Hands welfare officer Nick Davis and to website administrator Pete Roberts. Christleton CC is committed to ensuring all children (i.e all persons under the age of 18) participating in cricket have a safe and positive experience. You can read more about safeguarding on the club website here. Cricketing activities at the club continue to be at stage 3 with training taking place in maximum groups of 6. The cricket world hopes to move to stage 4 soon with an in-crease in the numbers deemed safe. This just needs the green light from HMG. Further news of current cricketing items of interest can be found on page 2 of the newsletter. Whatever you are doing at present, stay safe, look after those around you, keep moving and stay in touch. I will look forward to seeing many more of you on the ground before too long.

Newsletter week 11 in full…

The summer solstice is upon us and we have a cornucopia of glorious evening light for cricket. The annoying problem here is that we still have no actual cricket. However, we do have full bookings for nets and training at both junior and senior levels. Well done to everyone who has organised this and to those who have been training. Appetite for the game seems keener than ever which is tremendously encouraging. Several votes of thanks go out this week to people whose actions are making such a positive contribution to the club. Christleton Parish Council have given us a 3 month rent holiday and we are very grateful to our parish councillors for offering such a warm and meaningful gesture in these far from normal times. Big thanks also to our friends at BK Electrical for sourcing and fitting a high-grade CCTV system for us. This system can see what you’ve got in your sandwiches. Or at least, the images it provides are crystal clear, and in view of our recent history, we’re very glad to have this extra security. Lastly, thanks to our village Police/PCSO service for working so strongly with us to try to reduce instances of anti-social behaviour in our area. Whatever you are doing at present, stay safe, look after those around you, keep moving and stay in touch. I will look forward to seeing many more of you on the ground before too long. News of current cricketing items of interest can be found on page 2 of the newsletter.

Week 10 Newsletter