Taking a look back at the club's 60th Anniversary Day, and the 2008 Benfleet Cricket Club 6-A-Side tournament...
Five hundred and twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. Twenty-one thousand, nine hundred days. It has been sixty years since Benfleet Cricket Club was founded and the club took Sunday 24th August 2008 off to celebrate this wonderful achievement.
Many people from the clubs past and present (including players, coaches, families and friends) turned up to a busy Woodside Park to enjoy the day. The games kicked off early with a terrier-style youth fixture on the top pitch involving two mixed teams of under 11 and under 13 youths.
There were sweets and cakes on offer, along with a tombola, a bouncy castle for the younger visitors (and daring adults), a lucky dip, a special golf challenge and food from the barbeque available all day.
The matches then got into full swing as Dave Nash took his team of XI to face a Jon Wright XI down on the bottom square, as another terrier match between teams compiled by our two overseas players, Chris and Ryan, took place up on the top pitch.
All in all it was a great day, enjoyed by everyone and a fitting tribute to all the effort put into the club by many, many people in the past 60 years.
Fast forward the night and back up to Woodside we go. Six-a-side was on the cards and the design and creativity of the costumes were second to none this time around and were enough to persuade you to come at see the day as an event as it panned out.
Participating in the one day tournament were: Shirley's Sailors (led by Tremmers), Midnight Firemen (Dave Wright), The Optimists (Benny), Accies Pirates (Dafo), Crays Hill Campers, Gav’s Gladiators (Gavin Blowes), Wilko’s Warriors (James Wilkins) and Wilson’s Wanderers (Luke Wilson).
After the group stages come the newly introduced ‘Benfleet Cricket Cricathlon’. Devised and run by Mike Tremain, with the help of Andy Prophet and commentated on by Dave Wright it consisted of the ‘50 metre pad-up and sprint’, ‘Stump Javelin’ and ‘Skill Shot’.
The competition ended with outright winners Wilko’s Warriors taking victory over Shirley’s Sailors in the final watched by all on the top square. Duly accompanied by D J Wright and his collection of mildly cricket related songs.
If you would like to see all of the pictures from the weekend, please check out the photo galleries!
(http://www.benfleetcc.co.uk/gallery/default.aspx)