Kibworth Cricket Club – June 2023

A warmer welcome to an update from Kibworth Cricket Club. Last month, when drafting the article, we were sat looking at the ground becoming wetter and wetter. Fortunately, warmer weather has developed. We have fantastic groundsmen leading to the ground looking in excellent condition.

June and July are traditionally busy months with league and cup cricket matches for both our senior and junior teams. We will be hosting British Universities finals day. As well as Leicestershire Police and Leicestershire County Cricket club second teams.

Our senior teams have had mixed starts to the season. As we write, the 1st XI sit in 4th place. After a fantastic win against perennial rivals Rothley Park, but a disappointing following week defeat to Oakham. Our first team has reached the semi-finals of the league T20 competition after bank holiday wins over Sileby Town and Leicester Ivanhoe.

Our Second XI have now won four matches on the bounce and sit in third place in Division 1. Similarly, the Third XI have put a winning run together. After a slow start we sit mid-table in Division 4. Our youthful Fourth XI sit in the bottom half of Division 7 after picking up their first win of the season on the May bank holiday weekend.

The Women’s XI flying high

With a 100% record, Kibworth Women’s XI are flying in the East Midlands Women’s Cricket League. Four wins from four in the league with only a defeat in the National Cup is testament to our objective to grow the women’s section at KCC.

The junior section is still thriving, and we have found ourselves needing to grow each age group through the demand. This is great for us as a club, and cricket in general. With the Ashes just around the corner, we anticipate more interest and will do our upmost to support anyone wishing to give cricket a go. Our Under 13’s narrowly lost the County Cup final in May, a last ball defeat in a low scoring game to Rothley Park.

We have welcomed the introduction of ‘capping’ as you make your debut for KCC and recognising performances on the pitch. The picture from the night shows those with caps.

Leicestershire Foxes come to Kibworth

Finally, we are less than ten weeks away from hosting Leicestershire v Essex in the Royal London One-Day Cup, which promises to be a momentous day for Kibworth as a whole village. It is thrilling to see the ground named on various sports outlet websites alongside The Oval, Old Trafford, and Edgbaston.

Tickets for the match are available through the Leicestershire County cricket club website only – please visit www.eticketing.co.uk/leicestershireccc more information on the event can be found on the home page of our club website – www.kibworthcc.co.uk

We are on the hunt for sponsors, event suppliers and volunteers for the match, so if you fancy getting some exposure to first-class cricket that will be attended by over one thousand spectators and streamed live on the ECB website, please contact us at events@kibworthcc.co.uk

Kevin Messenger