'Heart of community' cricket club marks centenary

Droitwich Spa Cricket Club will celebrate a century with a special cricket match featuring club legends and new players

A cricket club "at the heart of a community" is to celebrate its 100th birthday.

Droitwich Spa Cricket Club was created on Lyttleton Road in 1924 and throughout the 20th century became a hub for talent as well as an important part of the community, said its members. It is holding a match to mark the centenary on Sunday.

Martyn Davies fell in love with the club and sport aged six and has fond memories of summer days spent batting and representing his boyhood club.

Now its chairman, he said: "It's a real social hub for the community in the town but has also offered a lot of opportunities to people, so there has been a lot of goodwill shown to the club."

'Lifelong friendships'

Mr Davies added: "We've gone from strength to strength because of the love shown by the community and that's the only way we're still hear 100 years later - we've been at the heart of the community."

The club closed during World War Two but as troops returned home it rapidly became known as a staple in the community and as it grew it found a new base at St Peter's Fields.

Since those early days, the club's division one team has gone on to play in the Worcestershire County Cricket League and sit second in the league.

The club's president Simon Holliday and Mr Davies will each lead a team at the club's St Peter's Fields ground on Sunday to celebrate the milestone.

"A lot of us have played under his captaincy and shared the field with him so it will be nice to try and get one over on him," Mr Davies joked.

The club will celebrate a century with a special cricket match on Sunday featuring club legends and new players

The club was more than a venue said Mr Davies, it was a place where teammates grew lifelong friendships.

"I'm very lucky because not only were my two brothers playing for the club, I grew up playing with people who have stayed very good mates and we still play as adults on several teams," he said.

"We've gone from having one team on a Saturday to having five play, our women's team is growing and we have a lot of amazing talent come through.

"We're lucky we have a massive juniors' section, that talent just flows through the club and make the club sustainable and keep the club going for another 100 years."

All are welcome to the match, which features club legends and new players, and starts at 13:000 BST.