What happens when someone steals part of your pitch?

In July 2017, the Hunslet Nelson CC Under 13s arrived for their Tuesday night fixture, but upon inspecting the pitch it wasn’t a case of deciding whether to bat or bowl first

One of local cricket’s finest qualities is that clubs are run from within.

With no external bodies looming over their shoulder, they are run by club members with the best interests of the local community at heart.

However, sometimes these clubs need help. This is where Yorkshire based Insurance Brokers, Marshall Wooldridge, who run the ExtraCover Insurance scheme, are always prepared to enter the field of play. ExtraCover Insurance provides cover to more cricket clubs than any other provider in the country. It is supported by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and has the widest policy wording for all cricket clubs, leagues and associations.

While the cricket season may have ended on our shores, over coming months we’ll bring you details of how and when the ExtraCover Insurance team provided the protection our local clubs need.

In July 2017, the Hunslet Nelson CC Under 13s arrived for their Tuesday night fixture, but upon inspecting the pitch it wasn’t a case of deciding whether to bat or bowl first. A large portion of the artificial pitch had been stolen, and the immediate concern was if the match would be able to go ahead.

But a solution was found, an alternative grass wicket was played on and the under 13s enjoyed a run fest with a particularly short boundary. But Hunslet Nelson has 11 teams, hosting several matches every week. It is also no small expense to replace such a surface, and the concrete slab lying in the middle of the pitch provided a severe safety risk. It did not look good.

“We had a 1st XI match scheduled for the next Saturday which was in jeopardy due to the dangerous state of the artificial pitch” said Brian Calverley, the club secretary.

“We urgently needed to make the artificial pitch safe, but ideally replaced.

“Mark Dearden from ExtraCover Insurance very kindly looked through his contact list and gave me several companies to acquire a quote.

“It was excellent support”.

The club chose to get in touch with ClubTurf, and the process got underway. Hunslet Nelson being insured by a firm specifically equipped to aid cricket clubs was immeasurably significant in the successful response to the unfortunate situation.

As the club had an appropriate level of insurance cover, by Friday morning a new surface was being laid. The vandals may have done a professional job, in neatly cutting out the turf and fleeing the scene in broad daylight, but Hunslet Nelson and ExtraCover Insurance outdid their thieves spectacularly.

The match on the following Saturday went ahead which showed the importance of having not just club insurance, but the right club insurance, which meets all the needs of the club and its members.

There is no way to truly stop vandals from doing damage, however a conversation with the ExtraCover Insurance team will go a long way to give your club peace of mind.

All cricket related activities and equipment will be adequately covered.

Contact the dedicated ExtraCover Insurance team if you’d like to get a quote or would like a review of your cricket club insurance

Call free on 0800 289301 to speak with Mark, Helen or David or email extracover@marswool.com

Click here to visit the ExtraCover website