Colehill Cricket Club in Dorset could be forced to fold after complaints from a group of neighbours meant they were no longer permitted to play matches at their home ground.
The club was founded more than 100 years ago in the 1920s after it was gifted the ground, which pre-dates much of the housing which now surrounds it. In the 1970s, Colehill Sports and Social Club was formed to take care of the ground, which by then was also home to other sports.
However, after complaints were raised by some neighbours about flying balls landing in their gardens and subsequent plans to erect protective netting were abandoned, the social club attempted to ban sixes being hit from one side of the ground.
As a result, Colehill were forced to find a new venue to play their matches and have since been informed adult cricket will be banned altogether. In response, a petition has been launched that has ammassed more than 20,000 signatures asking the club to reconsider their decision.
"The committee were just unable to manage the situation and buckled under pressure," Colehill captain George Taylor told the Telegraph. "They have not been able to find a middle ground for everyone and instead taken the easy option of banning adult cricket despite 100 years of history."
Their petition has garnered plenty of support from the world of cricket, with England captain Ben Stokes tweeting: "Checked to see if it was April 1st..it’s not so means this is real". Ex-England wicketkeeper Jack Russell added: "If you buy a house next to a cricket ground what do you expect!!!!!" Former captain Michael Vaughan wrote: "What an utter joke .. You buy a house next to a Cricket ground .. what do you expect ?"
"The petition has given us fire in the belly," Taylor added. "We were happy when we had 50 signatures, then 100 and the fact it has gone to 10,000 is very surprising but it resonates among people because this 'not in my backyard' mentality is so detrimental to the community.
"During Covid pandemic we had four players who moved to Colehill from London and all have sent supportive messages and said how much it had improved their lifestyle. A select few people shouldn’t be able to throw their weight around and stop us playing."
The social club has released a statement in response to the petition. In it, they said: "A ground of our size and nature relies on having understanding neighbours who are prepared to accept the occasional inconvenience and want to embrace living next to a cricket ground. We have many neighbours who follow this mantra, but we are also encountering those who want to adopt 'compensation culture'.
"The sports and social club is a not-for-profit organisation and, as with all small clubs at the moment, is struggling to keep costs to a minimum and actually survive the current cost of living crisis. Our insurance premiums have more than trebled in the last three years and it is becoming more difficult to source the type of insurance we need."
