Farndon Cricket Club captain and coach Martyn Hill says he hopes to continue growth as 2022-23 season gets underway

Farndon Cricket Club are looking to make an impact this season and continue growth in several areas, according to captain and coach Martyn Hill, writes Will Hugall.

The club compete in the South Nottinghamshire Cricket League Division D, which returns to a system of two promotion and two relegation spots after a system that saw half its teams promoted in 2021.

Finishing ninth out of 10 teams last season, Farndon stayed put and have built for this season instead.

Hill said: “It was a bit of an odd season because of no relegation, and [there was] something to play for because half of the league could go up, but also it didn’t kind of matter because you couldn’t go down either.

“We struggled because people were still unavailable because of Covid and they weren’t keen to play yet so selection was all over the place.

“But hopefully, everything back open this season, it’s all back to normal.”

While the first team campaign didn’t see too much to smile about last season, there was a bright end to the year when Hill and fellow coach Josh Feehily were both recognised for their efforts.

Hill won Coach of the Year in Nottinghamshire Recreational Cricket’s annual awards, while Feehily was named Young Coach of the Year.

“That was nice. It was nice to get a bit of credit for the work that I do at Farndon and for my job as well”, Hill said.

“Last year, we had over 100 juniors signed up and that’s in part down to me and a couple of the other guys that started it up, back in 2008, I think.

“Now we’re looking at, we’ve got three hardball senior sides this year and two Kwik Cricket sides and a new pavilion on its way – it’s laying the foundations for the future of the club and the future of the village as well.”

These are no mean feats for the club, and to see cricket thriving is a key part of growing their stature.

Four young players from the club were also selected to play for Nottinghamshire last season, including highly-rated under-18 player Rhiannon Knowling-Davies.

“You’ve got to have junior sections to thrive”, Hill said.

“We’ve got a lot of older juniors now, like 14, 15-year-olds that help with coaching on a Friday night as well.

“That’s great because then you’re going to continue to produce players and continue to produce a love for cricket within the village, and without that you’re never going to prosper and you’re never going to thrive.”

In terms of the first team’s fortunes this season, though, Hill is just hopeful that the negative impacts of the last two years can be forgotten.

“Last season kind of was a season but wasn’t a season, because it wasn’t cricket as we know it, it was just turning up in your whites and then playing and then going straight home.”

“We’re a very social side at Farndon and we lost a lot of that social interaction after games and pre-games, and it just didn’t feel the same.”

“Everything going back to normal, we’re excited and looking forward to it.”

Excitement for the start of action is helped by clear progression throughout the club, too.

Planning permission has been granted on a new pavilion at their ground, and with some younger players coming into senior sides, Hill wants the first team to lead the way this season in building a legacy.

“I want to get promoted; I’m not going to lie. That’s my goal.”

“We’ve got some talent coming through, so these youngsters, in a couple of years’ time they need to be playing higher than Division D.

“As captain, I want to put in some positive performances and be as positive as we can when we go out and play and try and get up to Division C.”