Town's cricket club celebrates 175th birthday

Rory Kroon is a batsman and captain at Ilkley Cricket Club

A 175-year-old cricket club is looking to raise £30,000 for a new pitch roller after hosting former England batsmen Mark Ramprakash at its charity gala dinner.

Ilkley Cricket Club was established in 1850 as one of the founding members of the Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League.

To celebrate the anniversary, the club was visited by Ramprakash who spoke at a gala dinner at Craiglands Hotel in Ilkley on Friday.

Fellow batsman Rory Kroon said it was important for the club to not just "look back at the history but to look at where we're going to go in the future".

He said: "As a committee we've really thought about how do we make sure we've got a sustainable club that's going to last another 175 years, so we've set out this year to really make sure we can raise some funds to help move the club forward in a sustainable direction."

The club's pitch roller was stolen last year and although it was later found by police, they are looking to replace it with an electric auto-roller that costs £34,200.

Mr Kroon said the roller was an "essential part" of cricket.

Ex-cricketer Mark Ramprakash gave a speech at the club's gala dinner

The batsman said: "It's certainly not in a good way. I think there's only two people that can operate it - the groundsman and the chairman and no one else goes near it.

The club now hosts three senior and seven junior teams, and started a ladies team for the first time in 2024.

Mr Kroon, who started playing with the club as a child, said: "I've been here a long time. I've had a few periods away where I've lived in other places and things, and with a young family as well, I took a couple of years out from playing, but I've always been drawn back to it.

"I think it comes back to the social aspect, it's the fact you're playing cricket with a group of your mates and then you actually get to see other people experience that and enjoy that."

Mark Ramprakash playing in a charity match in 2018

Mr Kroon said the club was also fearful of flooding after experiencing three floods in as many years and had invested "heavily" in flood defences.

He said another threat to its future was rising costs and the club had partnered with a solar company, which would install rooftop panels to help reduce electricity costs.

"We're thinking about being sustainable and making sure we're being kind to the environment but also sustainable for our club costs as well. It's quite key to the club moving forward."

He added that these challenges existed within a wider context of amateur cricket clubs facing an overall decline.

"We're lucky in this area that there's a high level of interest and a high level of participation, but it's certainly not the same across other areas of the country."

He added: "Fingers crossed amateur cricket does still exist in 175 years .

"I really hope it does for those people that are around, but unfortunately the stats would probably suggest it's not quite heading in the right direction."

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