Young Matlock and Cromford cricketers bowled over by fund

The £75,000 Gigaclear Rural Sports Club Fund aims to support teams based in rural communities across the broadband company’s full fibre network, which spans 26 counties.

Matlock and Cromford Cricket Club, who play their fixtures in both towns, have over 100 players across their junior and senior teams providing cricketing opportunities for players of any age, gender and ability.

The club successfully applied to the fund to support a schools’ cricket festival at the club to introduce new players to the game. A number of teams were fielded from All Saints’ CE Junior School, Castle View Primary School, St Joseph’s Catholic Academy and St Giles CofE Primary School.

Matlock and Cromford Meadows Cricket Club Honorary Fixtures Secretary Steve Haslam said: “We recently hosted a cricket tournament for junior schools in the area, the first of two such events, thanks to support from Gigaclear’s rural sports club fund, together with B2B and Greatorex FS. With almost one hundred participants, the games ebbed and flowed throughout the afternoon, overseen by teachers from the schools as well as volunteers from the club. We had orange balls, blue bats, yellow and blue stumps! There was great participation and the games were, I hope, enjoyed by all those who took part.”

Fund ambassador Darren Gough said: “Since launching the fund, it has gone from strength to strength, providing valuable support where it is needed most. It’s great to see so much support being made available to rural sports clubs such as Matlock and Cromford Meadows Cricket Club and I wish them every success in the coming season. I believe the fund is helping make a difference to players now and to the rural sports teams of the future.”

More than 1,600 homes and businesses in Matlock and Cromford are now able to access Gigaclear’s full fibre broadband offering ultrafast speeds up to 900Mbps. For more details, visit Gigaclear.com