To start with, the usual reminder about make life easy for team captains by updating your availability for matches and training via Pitchero. It also makes the lives of Treasurer Karen Chadwick and Membership Secretary Rohit Nag more enjoyable if you can pay your membership and any other fees promptly. For a recap of all the benefits that membership brings, please see here. Remember for existing members the discounted rate only lasts until the end of April…

So what has changed since last year? The answer is simple – quite a lot! Please do read on to find out more and the plans we have for the upcoming season.

Facility Improvements

Back in October we were able to agree a long-term licence arrangement with our friends at Wimbledon Rugby Club, which has enabled us to more confidently invest in the facilities at the club. Since then, we have been able to achieve a significant amount already ahead of the 2026 season:

Installed a NTP (non turf pitch) to create a second playing area. This enables us to host two simultaneous games and will really help the social side of the club. At long last the 3rd XI and 4th XI have a home alongside the 1st XI and 2nd XI! It will also provide a brilliant pitch for the Women's Team as we enter the league for the first time in 2026. Of course, the new pitch will also be used by our junior players, with a more consistent surface helping towards better player development.
For the new pitch we have mounted some netting to protect the car park area. Sightscreens are now also in place meaning this should be a great place to play.
On the existing grass pitch we have been able to lengthen the boundaries at the pavilion end by astroturfing over two drain covers. We have also removed a large amount of boundary brambles to save time during games…and fielder’s arms / legs from damage.
A significant sum has been spent on providing new patio areas outside the pavilion on both sides to improve the spectating experience. Our benches are finally level and speaking of, see if you can spot the two new picnic tables kindly donated by our club sponsor Wimbledon Common Golf Club.
The entrance path and surrounding areas have been levelled out which looks much neater and removes trip hazards.
The unisex toilet (the middle part of the pavilion) can now be accessed and utilised on match days.

A huge thank you to Facilities Manager Barry Brown, John Kendall and so many others for having achieved so much already! Our recent Get Set Day was also a huge success with record breaking numbers volunteering their time to get Beverley Meads ready for the season.

Future Facility Plans

We have active plans to refurbish many other parts of the pavilion over the course of the season, so at times there may be some disruption. To quote the 2007 film Hot Fuzz - "it's for the greater good". If we can get these things done, it will make spending time at the club a much better experience for all our members. These plans include:

Installing new shower cubicles and redecorating the changing rooms.
Improving the kitchen with the addition of new fridge space and (hopefully) a dishwasher.
Relaying the flooring and redecorating the main room.
Adding additional storage facilities in various places.
Numerous minor other improvements throughout e.g. replacing light fittings.
Submitting a planning application for a full artificial net facility.
Displaying new club signage to make the whole place feel a little more like home.

For a full list of things we are actively seeking to achieve in 2026, please see the club development plan here.

Fundraising & Socials

We can only achieve our facility plans if everyone continues to do their part across the club. Our members can help us in all sorts of ways:

Help us to find new club sponsors (see here for available opportunities). We are extremely fortunate to have Currie Motors, Wimbledon Common Golf Club & Tiflex on board but would love to have more.
A new initiative for this year is player sponsorship (see here). The first player to be individually sponsored is Club Secretary Mark Streather and he won’t let us forget about it if he’s the only one, so please do ask around to get yourself supported!
Join the Britannia Club and become a Vice=President, which includes a free trip to the Oval in August.
Join Easyfundraising and raise money form the club for free. We are close to having made £1000 just by a few members occasionally doing some shopping.
Buy raffle tickets as and when they become available, as you can raise money and win some great prizes at the same time.
Take advantage of our Surrey CC ticket offers here.

If you have any sponsorship or fundraising ideas, please do contact Fundraising & Marketing John Kendall.

We also have plenty of social events throughout the year and the recent annual golf day was a big success. Do note upcoming events for the diary:

9 May – Club Social
20 June – Club Social
18 July – Club Social
2 August – President’s Day
11 August – Britanna Club Oval Social
29 August to 1 September – Annual Tour
5 September – Club Social

Further events will be announced soon including the end of season awards night that will once again be hosted at AFC Wimbledon.

If you have any social ideas, then please do contact Social Secretary Tom Campbell.

Cricket Help Needed

Cricket at the club doesn’t just magically happen and there are a few areas where we could do with some extra volunteers.

The more people we have with qualifications the better – see here for links to coaching, umpiring, scoring and grounds.
We need help at junior training and just need a few people to commit to one Friday night across the season. Please do update here if you are able to get involved.
Join our Facilities Sub-Committee as we have a lot going on with the various pavilion upgrades, along with trying to improve the pitch. Contact Facilities Manager Barry Brown if you think you may be able to help.

Senior Cricket

It’s a new season and with it brings new hope, especially after a record-breaking pre-season training indoor programme. Our teams:

1st XI – Surrey Cricket Championship Division 8 with Andrew Merriman at the helm for a third season. All matches are 45 overs and due to a change in league rules the start times are now a mixture of 12pm or 1pm.
1st XI Cup – Further details available soon for our draw in the League T20 Knockout Cup competition.
2nd XI – Surrey Cricket Championship Division 11 with Tom Chapman taking the captaincy reins. All matches are 40 overs and start at 1pm.
3rd XI – Surrey Cricket Championship Division 12 with Tom Campbell moving sides to skipper. All matches are 40 overs and start at 1pm.
4th XI – Director of Cricket Akhilesh Sivaraman is hoping to rebuild the side more permanently and several fixtures have already been booked in. Early notice of availability is critical to helping achieve this more regularly, so please do update Pitchero availability often and early.
Sunday XI – Henry Peirse is the new head of the table. Most matches are traditional friendly declaration games, with a handful of limited over affairs thrown in. Start times vary across the season but are mostly between 1-2pm.
Wild West Dons T20 – James Woodroof leads for a second season in the Surrey Slam T20 competition. Most start times are 6pm.
Bank Blitz - John Jackson has been going for over a decade and carries on once more with matches mostly against other City based institutions. The team is predominantly geared towards our serving Bank of England staff and pensioners contingent, but all are welcome. Highlights include the Bank Cup (between our BOE linked and non-linked internal teams on Weds 10th June), plus the Public Services T20 Tournament on Weds 22nd July.

For dates where we have two fixtures at home, we have agreed usage of the Wimbledon Rugby Club changing rooms. Home sides will be based there, with away teams in the cricket pavilion. Teas and post-match entertainment will continue to operate from the cricket pavilion and further details around how this will work on a practical basis will be shared ahead of match days.

For any questions on senior cricket, please contact Director of Cricket Akhilesh Sivaraman.

Women’s Cricket

After the success of forming our first ever women’s team in 2025 and a well-attended indoor programme, there are exciting plans for 2026:

Entering the Surrey Cricket Championship league for the first time ever. Fixtures are soft ball pairs cricket on Sunday afternoons beginning at 2pm.
Regular fortnightly outdoor training sessions on Wednesday evenings at West Wimbledon CC. The first session is Wednesday 29th April.
Depending on availability we may try to secure additional friendly fixtures. Update Pitchero availability early to help us achieve this!

For any questions on women’s cricket, please contact Women’s Cricket Coordinator Emily Marsh.

Junior Cricket

The juniors are the future superstars of the club and we have lots of opportunities available in 2026:

Boys U14 / U15 training is on Friday evenings at Barn Elms Sports Trust. Matches in the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship are on Sunday mornings with home games at King’s House. Over the course of the season we hope to introduce many of the boys to senior cricket too. To sign up see here.
Boys U10 / U11 training is on Friday evenings at West Wimbledon CC. Matches in the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship are on Sunday mornings with home games at West Wimbledon. To sign up see here.
Boys U8 / U9 training is on Friday evenings at West Wimbledon CC. Matches in the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship are on Sunday mornings with home games at West Wimbledon. To sign up see here.
Girls U8 to U11 training is on Friday evenings at West Wimbledon CC. Matches in the Surrey Junior Cricket Championship are on Sunday mornings with home games at West Wimbledon. we have been fortunate to have been allocated some FREE funded places by the ECB on a first come first served basis. There are very few of these spots remaining so please do sign up now here.
Mixed U5 – U7 (All Stars) training is on Friday evenings at West Wimbledon CC. These sessions are super fun and provide a brilliant starting point to cricket. To sign up see here.

For any questions on junior cricket, please contact Junior Cricket Coordinator Richard Kendall.

Member Communications

There are several ways that we keep in touch with you all. If you do not have access to any of the following, then please do get in touch.

Our Pitchero website / app is best for tracking club news, updating availability and paying fees.
The WhatsApp community has various groups with many different purposes. They form a key part of logistics around match days too.
Boundary Buzz emails are circulated monthly ish with a round up of all the latest news items.
Follow us on social media! Our Instagram content especially has been hugely improved over the last year or so.

I look forward to seeing many of you across our various activities throughout the year. As a club we continue to progress and my hope is that my batting average can follow suit…