His coaching experience includes spells with Braughing Cricket Club and Reed Cricket Club in Hertfordshire, where he worked with juniors and young players up to the age of 20.
He is an assistant coach with Activate Sport, an organisation that provides summer activity camps for children.
He also works with District Sports, a coaching and management services company, as an after-school coach in a range of sports for key stage one and two children.
And he has coached with the Andrew Flintoff Cricket Academy, teaching youngsters aged five to 16 the fundamentals of the game.
Tom is a qualified emergency first-aider, has a current DBS certificate, as well as cricket coaching level 2 and sports leaders level 1 qualifications.
Club chairman Neil Hall said: “We are delighted to welcome Tom to the club, where I am sure he will make an enormous contribution to the development of cricket at all levels and ages.
The branch is one of those taking part in Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme, in which grants of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – are awarded to community projects.
Other local projects vying for funding are Cheltenham Rugby Club, who are seeking funding for a multi-use games area, and an organisation (unknown) building an outdoor learning centre.
They are both worthwhile projects, but we really want to win the £5,000 top award (we are at least guaranteed a £1,000 grant).
That is why we need your help. Please vote for Bredon Cricket Club whenever you do your shopping in Tesco, Bishop’s Cleeve, or Evesham.
You will be given a token when you pay at the check-out. You can then drop it into the appropriate transparent ballot box (see picture above, and thanks to Glenn Buckley for providing it!).
Online customers can take their customer delivery note into store and show it to a member of staff , who will then provide a voting token.
We are hoping to receive more information from Tesco about which other branches in our area are taking part in the Bags of Help scheme.
Jake Denton, left, landlord of the Crown, Kemerton, is organising a Twenty20 tournament for Bredon Hill cricket teams. The finals day will be held at Bredon’s Cricket Club’s Hill Close ground, right
Twenty20 cricket is coming to Bredon Hill!
Village teams from Bredon, Overbury and Ashton cricket clubs, and the Crown, Kemerton, will meet in an exciting round-robin tournament over the four Sundays of August 2017.
The competition is being called the Bredon Hill Bash and will culminate in a finals day at Hill Close on Sunday, August 27, at which the first and second placed teams, and the third and fourth, will play to decide the placings.
A local cricket fan is sponsoring a top-quality trophy for the winners.
The finals, in particular, will be a fun day for all the family. Local musical duo The Brethryn will be performing, and there will be a barbecue. The club’s licensed bar will also be open.
The competition is being organised by Jake Denton, landlord of the Crown at Kemerton, who is a former Bredon Cricket Club player.
Jake’s fond memories of his own cricketing experiences around Bredon Hill inspired him to organise the competition.
He regrets that the village cricket games he used to play on Sundays now happen much less frequently.
“One of the main problems is that people are so busy now,” he says. “A game of cricket can start just after lunch and not finish until early evening. People just don’t have the time.
“That’s why I thought the shorter, 20-over format of the game might be better.”
Twenty20 cricket has exploded in popularity in recent years.
Each of the two teams has a single 20-over innings.
A typical game is finished in about three hours.
It produces a more dramatic spectacle in which batsmen tend to go all out for runs.
For Jake, though, the priority is reigniting the appeal of village cricket, including the socialising that accompanies it.
Bredon Cricket Club certainly support that aim, and will be giving the competition our full backing.
Jake is still finalising details of times, rules and so forth, but we will keep you up to date on this website.
Ensure you don’t miss any updates about the Bredon Hill Bash by completing the subscribe by email panel in the menu bar to the left of this page.
Children lend a hand to tidy up the club’s existing practice nets, but a major renovation is needed
Bredon Cricket Club are bidding for a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative.
Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local community projects.
Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and shoppers are invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.
Bredon Cricket Club is one of the groups on the shortlist.
We will use the money from Tesco to renovate our practice nets.
Club chairman Neil Hall said: “Our nets are in a dire state, and are holding back the development of cricket at Bredon.
“A players’ meeting earlier this year decided replacing the nets should be the club’s key goal for the season. So we are delighted and grateful that this funding from the Tesco Bags of Help scheme will help us achieve our goal.
“We are now looking forward to urging the community to get behind us to help us win the maximum £5,000 grant.”
Voting is open in stores throughout March and April. Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out each time they shop.
Tesco in Bishop’s Cleeve, near Cheltenham, is taking part and is one of the closest to Bredon. The store at Evesham is also taking part.
Tesco Bags of Help project has already delivered £27 million to more than 3,500 projects up and down the UK. Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.
Lindsey Crompton, head of community at Tesco, said: “We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for March and April. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life in hundreds of communities.”
Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between.
“We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”
Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp
Stalwart Dave Bettridge, pictured with his grandson, Alex, has died at the age of 76
It is with great sadness that we have learnt that former Bredon Cricket Club player, umpire, committee member and stalwart Dave Bettridge passed away last Friday aged 76 following a short but cruel illness.
Dave played for the club from the late 1970s and was instrumental in bringing us to our beautiful Westmancote home in 1989.
When he finally hung up his bowling boots Dave would be found on most summer Saturdays on the boundary edge, as passionate about the game as a spectator as he was as a player.
He would also come along on a Friday evenings to proudly watch his grandson be part of the junior practice, and he took great delight in overcoming Dumbleton… even at Under 9s!
Dave will be remembered and sadly missed by all at Bredon Cricket Club.
There will be a private funeral for close family members next week.
On Saturday, March 4, from 2pm in the clubhouse at Hill Close anyone who knew Dave is welcome to join the family and friends to celebrate his life and have a drink in his name.
Bredon Cricket Club is gearing up for a new season of junior cricket
Bredon are running four junior cricket teams this season.
The under 11s, 12s, 13s and 15s are all entered into the Cotswold Hills League, and a Worcestershire knockout cup.
Indoor nets are being held at Tewkesbury School sports centre on Saturday, March 18, at 2pm, and on the two following Saturdays.
Outdoor training will then follow, weather permitting, on Friday evenings from 6.15pm until 7.30pm.
League fixtures start in early May on Sunday mornings (matches start at 10am). The under 15s also play on Tuesday evenings.
New this year is our ECB All Stars Cricket programme for five to eight-year-olds. Sessions are held on Friday evenings from 5.15pm until 6pm. More details here.
Team coaches are:
U11s Sean Styles(years 5-6)
07779 268604
U12s Glenn Buckley (year 7)
07920 094688
U13s Mark Notley (year 8)
O7843 209896
U15s Lawrence Simmonds (years 9-10)
07843 328770
You can also contact our coaches by using the form below.
We are also looking for someone to run an under 9s team. We will then be able to enter them into a number of tournaments throughout the season.
We welcome new players throughout all junior age groups. If any parents have any questions about junior cricket at Bredon please contact the relevant coach.
Can all helpers from last season please contact the club if you are willing to lend us a hand again. Your contribution is so important for children of this age group.
If your child/children require any cricket kit please buy it from club shop (the link is also on the menu to the left of this page). We would like all players playing league cricket to wear our club shirt if possible in 2017.
The list will be available in full on the nationalvillagecup.com website straight after the draw.
Every year about 300 clubs from villages across the British Isles battle for the chance to play in the final at Lord’s, the home of cricket.
The competition has its origins in a meeting in the committee room at Lord’s.
Aidan Crawley, chairman of the National Cricket Association, looked out of the window and remarked that he had always wanted to see village cricketers play on the hallowed turf.
Ben and Belinda Brocklehurst formed a plan of campaign with The Cricketer.
They agreed what constituted a village, deciding that it should be a “rural community surrounded on all sides by open countryside”.
By the end of the 1971 cricket season, 785 clubs had been divided into 32 regional groups, whose local knock-out competitions would provide the starting point of the inter-group stages and thereafter the national rounds.
