Nairn County Cricket Club are looking to find more players for 2024 season
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One of the oldest sports clubs in Nairn are looking for new players to join and help boost the profile of cricket in the town.
Nairn County Cricket Club have been established since two teams merged in 1874 and will celebrate its 150th anniversary this year.
The club which was a founder member of the North of Scotland Cricket League in 1893, is looking forward to a successful season which is scheduled to start in the Spring.
However, the club are looking to avoid the situation of not being able to fulfil fixtures like last season.
Last year, the club were forced to forfeit some matches due to the lack of players that were available.
They are making a big effort this year to attract more players to the team and look to achieve success in league and cup competitions.
Currently the club have around 25 members which play in the North of Scotland League and North of Scotland Reserve League.
Committee member Tim Hyatt says as one of the oldest sports clubs in Nairn, the club are making a big effort to gain a higher profile in the town.
“We want to make people aware that Nairn does have a cricket club,” said Hyatt.
“We want to promote ourselves more in the community and attract more players to the club.
“Unfortunately last year, we had to concede a few games because we were not able to get 11 people out on to the field.
“That is something we look back at with regret, but we think there are people living in Nairn that would like to play or take up the sport.
“The level that we are playing at means we are open to people who have or haven’t played before.
“We also want to increase our focus on youth to be involved in our development team as well, as adults who are keen to play and hopefully it grows from there.
“At the moment, we do not have the confidence we have the players which would be able to compete in every game.
“It would be a shame if we had to concede any games again because we couldn’t get 11 people out on the pitch.”
The club currently has players which travel from outside Nairn to play for the club.
It also developed links with Dornoch Cricket Club whose players represented Nairn last year. But Hyatt says there is a real determination to get more people from Nairn and surrounding areas into cricket.
“We will continue our relationship with Dornoch this season,” said Hyatt.
“But they will want to form their own team in the North of Scotland League when they are in a position to do so and we want to be in a position where we are self sufficient.
“We want to future proof ourselves by making sure that we have enough of our own players.
“At this stage, we are looking to promote ourselves on web pages involved with Nairn and surrounding communities to boost numbers.”
Nairn County are in the process of organising winter training at Gordonstoun in preparation for the new season.
The club operates youth development coaching on Wednesday nights during the cricket season at The Links in a bid to get more kids into the sport.
To find out more about joining Nairn County Cricket Club email Tim Hyatt at tim_hyatt@msn.com
