Putting our club at the heart of our community
We are very proud of Nazeing Common’s long history as a cricket club – we’ve been around for over 140 years now, surviving two world wars and 43 different governments!
But we are not resting on our laurels. We must plan for the future, with the club’s sustainability our core focus.
Key to this is embedding it at the heart of the local community, not just with cricketers but with people from all over Nazeing and surrounding areas.
So how will we do this?
As many of you know, we are in the process of building what will be the fantastic Peter Danes Pavilion. We expect to have it completed in the near future, and are confident it will complement the wonderful landscape we enjoy at the top of the Common, as well as our ambitions for the club to be a thriving community asset.
Beyond completing the build we need to increase our membership both on and off the field and across the generations.
In practice this means we need to attract new players and bring through our own home grown talent. Our youth section has an excellent record of inspiring a love of cricket, developing players' skills and supporting them as they transition to adult games . For adult cricketers we offer competitive or friendly cricket, played in the best traditions of the village game. The new pavilion will provide an exceptional social space, complemented by annual tours both at home and abroad. If you would like to get involved we’d love to hear from you. Winter nets start on 10 February in Harlow if you’d like to come along.
Beyond our cricketing core, we want the pavilion to be somewhere other local clubs or groups might meet, businesses might hold meetings or functions, or members of the community just drop in for a drink. We offer an associate membership for those people who just want access to the building but do not intend to play for £3 per month.
We also know that a bigger membership making more regular use of a bigger, multi-use pavilion will require us to think about how we run the club and the building. It’ll be a learning curve for us, we’re all volunteers and we’re keen to learn from those who already have expertise we need.
So whilst we would love you just to come and join us occasionally for a drink and maybe watch some cricket, we hope you might want to be a bit more involved than that. In particular:
Can you make use of the building? Do you run an activity or class that you are looking for a venue to host, or maybe you have a special one-off event in mind? And even if you don’t, might you be willing to help manage how those sorts of activities are carried out?
Could you help with our junior section? Support on coaching nights during the Summer is always needed and welcome (and don’t worry if you don’t have any prior experience, we can train you up), but there are matches to be organised and run too. Sarah Walker is our head coach, and would love to hear what you could offer
How are you with groundwork? There are always jobs that need doing all year round – nature never stops! – and an extra pair of hands is always welcome. And if you happen to be mechanically minded, we have a range of machines that always need maintaining
Are you interested in club administration? We are lucky to have a large and dedicated committee, but there are always roles that filling – for example, we are currently looking for someone to act as our Fixture Secretary.
Do you see yourself supporting a community asset? We’re always interested in speaking to businesses who’d like to support us in different ways, whether its through a donation of time, expertise or other resources.
Of course if there are other ways you think you can help, please just let us know. We look forward to seeing you at the Common soon!
Pete Barker, Chairman
This is the latest in series of blogs that will showcase progress with the build, the 2026 season and other club news.
If you are interested in becoming a playing or social member of the club please contact us.
