A little over two weeks after England won the Ashes at the Brit Oval, Lingfield Cricket Club were at the ground on Sunday to celebrate yet another cricketing success.

Lingfield were awarded the prestigious Clubmark award by Surrey player Mark Ramprakash during the final totesport league game of the season. Lingfield are only the fourth club in Surrey to receive this honour and were invited to the Brit Oval as the guests of Surrey Cricket to receive the award.

Mark Ramprakash with some members of Lingfield Cricket Club

Clubmark is the national club accreditation scheme from Sport England, which is awarded in conjunction with existing National Governing Body (NGB) schemes. Clubmark will ensure that clubs can continue to develop and offer children the best possible sporting opportunities, whilst allowing parents/carers to be confident that their children are playing cricket at quality club.

Neil Henderson, one of the five ECB qualified coaches at the club said “Cricketforce day provided the launch pad for the club’s success which has seen over the last four years the number of children playing cricket increase to over 120. There are now 10 age groups from under 9s to 18s, all playing league cricket. Each group is run by a manager and regular coaching is provided by five ECB-qualified coaches throughout the year”.

Henderson also said “We are delighted to have achieved this award and it is recognition for the years of hard work from club members, parents and children. The success of England’s Ashes winning team has given cricket a big boost particularly at grassroots level. The Clubmark award recognises that we are able to provide a safe and well-equipped environment for children to enjoy the game.”

The club is currently in the process of securing funding for two new state-of-the-art cricket nets, which should be in place for the start of next season. They also hope that their new Clubmark status will attract funding from local sponsors.

Sharon Eyers, Cricket Development Manager at Surrey said, “The Clubmark is the most important target for all cricket clubs at the moment. Cricket will only continue to grow if the younger children are given the best training and support, and clubs that have shown their dedication to this by attaining the Clubmark will be first in the queue for the distribution of resources and funding.” She adds: “Lingfield is a well run club and we are really proud of the work that they have put in and everything that has been achieved.”

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