Hackney cricket faces another summer of contrasting fortunes as a decision is yet to be made on whether action can take place on London Fields and Springfield Park.
London Fields was closed for cricket in 2020 owing to anti-social behaviour and a need for green space, and according to sources a similar fate may be facing Springfield Park in 2021.
Hackney has a burgeoning cricket scene but the council faces a difficult balancing act. “The issue in Hackney is that many people do not have gardens and that sort of thing,” says Edgar Maddicott, captain of Hackney Cricket Club.
While some clubs find their season up in the air, Stoke Newington Cricket Club faces no such issues.
Having recently won a £3,000 grant for the women’s team following their £7,500 Sport England grant last October, the club is in rude health.
“Last summer…was absolutely fantastic,” says Duncan Holden, Cricket Coordinator and welfare officer at Stoke Newington CC. “We had record numbers [participating].”
Holden says the club is fortunate to have “generous support alongside our long-term sponsor, who is very giving”.
They were able to put out six teams every Saturday last summer, compared with three or four teams in previous years.
The contrasting fortunes of Hackney cricket are reflected in the quality of pitches and facilities.
Holden says that, were Springfield and London Fields to be put out of action, only one park would be left with the sound of leather on willow for the North East London League. “The [North East London] league would then only be left with Millfields Park, which is the weakest of the three,” he says.
Stoke Newington CC are not the villains in this piece. Holden says there has been a concerted effort to try and get the North East London League “one and a half pitches on a Sunday at the Marshes”.
While Holden, Maddicott and other figures involved in Hackney-based cricket appreciate what the council does – Holden says that they “play a blinder” – the issue of shared facilities is always likely to be a problem in an inner city borough.
The marshes have three grass pitches but, with league cricket played there on a Saturday and sides from all over the East End vying for their chance on a Sunday, space is always likely to be at a premium.
“The issues show how much demand there is for cricket in Hackney, and that is the crisis some of these clubs face,” says Holden. “It’s not a financial issue, it’s about where they get to play their game. And that’s a juggling act.”
