Cricket: Martinstown on board as new season approaches

A proprietary model would have cost £8,000 but this one has been built from scratch at minimal cost by a small team from within the club.

The Dorset club were guided by information from a Westbury CC website and the finished board is one of only a handful of its type in existence in the country.

Martinstown’s Tony Jacobs said: “The work took place over about three months through the winter, with first turning the pavilion into a workshop. Then, ordering and buying all of the materials followed by a whole lot of sawing, painting, soldering, wiring and assembly work.

“It was a journey into the unknown. We had little or no experience on the electronic side, and had to learn as we went along.

"Some of the materials came from as far afield as China.

“We used a modular approach and the tension mounted the further we went. Finally everything came together, we connected the power, fed in the software and, after a couple of minor hitches, we had completed the job.”

The club’s first team will compete once more in the Dorset Premier League and after two years of successful consolidation are raising their sights helped by the addition of a few new faces.

Once again, they will run a second team playing in Division Five of the Dorset League, a side in Division One of the Dorchester & District Evening League and a team of senior players and youth playing together in the new TT25 League on Sundays.

n The club is also continuing with its comprehensive youth programme.

This brings quality coaching and participation opportunities to all age groups. This is coupled with the opportunity to play league and perhaps district and county representative cricket at under-11, 13 and 15 levels.

Martinstown CC will give a warm welcome to any new players that would like to play cricket, at whatever level, in the idyllic surroundings of their ground at Ashton. Full details of all teams, training and contacts can be found at martinstown.play-cricket.com