Hadfield Cricket Club hoping for an Indian Summer

Hadfield St Andrew’s Cricket Club are the first of the area’s cricket clubs to start their 2025 season.

Kicking off this Sunday 13th April, Hadfield start their 2025 campaign one week earlier than usual, and three weeks earlier than last year’s rain-ravaged campaign, as they take on Padiham CC (Lancashire) in the ECB National Club Championship.

The match starts at 1pm at Newshaw Lane.

Hadfield are making their first ever appearance in the national cup competition.

The club, however, is dreaming big. 

The start of a potentially long campaign sees them needing just eight wins in the competition to secure a place in the September final which is played at Lord’s.

With the season just days away, Hadfield are set to welcome their first ever Indian-born overseas signing, Shantanu Khenat, to the club. 

The promising top order batsman and off-spin bowler has regional honours in his home country but will be playing his first ever season in English cricket in the hope that it will aid his development in search of a first-class deal. 

Hadfield, similarly, hope that a he and their other new signings will aid the Club’s five-pronged trophy assault.

Cameron Ball, Club Captain, commented:

“The players and I can’t wait for the season to start.  It’s our first ever time entering the national cup so hopefully we can do ourselves justice. A Lord’s final, however far away it seems now, is something all cricket fans and players, of whatever level, can get excited about.

“Shantanu will be with us for the first league game, and we can’t wait to welcome him here and make him feel part of the club. 

“We have our two senior Saturday teams but also a social team who play midweek games, so we accommodate all levels of cricket. It would be fantastic to see not only new players with us this year, but also new fans. We have a fantastic clubhouse, bar and facilities and they are open every Friday night from 6, every Saturday from noon, and many Sundays too.”

Junior Lead Coach, Ric Tranter, added:

“Our junior cricket really took off last year and we hope that even more young people in Hadfield, Padfield, Glossop and from further afield will join our Friday night sessions.

“Three years ago, we didn’t even have a junior section and now we have Under 9s, Under 11s and we will be starting with an Under 13s team as well this season.

The Club is open to all ages and abilities. We also have the All Stars (ages 5-8) and Dynamos (9-11) programmes, led by our ECB-qualified coaches which starts in a few weeks’ time.

“The Club’s success in the last 15-20 years has been built upon its thriving junior teams and I and many other committed people want that to continue. The enjoyment that the kids get from playing has been wonderful to see, and we also have an amazing group of youngsters, parents, volunteers and supporters to which the club and I owe so much.”

During the winter, Hadfield has been busier than ever before. 

The club’s committed team of volunteers have been working round the clock to have the ground and its facilities ready for their earliest ever start to a cricket season.

2025 will see Hadfield enter their sixth season as a member of the Greater Manchester Cricket League and they hope to build on a successful 2024 which saw the 1st XI win promotion to the GMCL Championship and reach the knockout stages of the GMCL20. 

The 2nd XI, meanwhile, had a much-improved campaign and hope to build on that promising year under the continued captaincy of Leon Walsh. 

In a local twist, 2025 will see Hadfield, Glossop and Mottram play in the  same league for the first time, with all three desperate for local bragging rights and the latter two amongst the favourites for promotion.

If your son or daughter would like to join Hadfield’s growing junior set-up, even if just to try it out, their Friday evening All Stars and Dynamos sessions start Friday 16th May and run all the way until September. 

There is no additional cost for the extra sessions. 

You can contact the club about this, about clubhouse hire, or about any other enquiries via their social media channels, their website, or by emailing hadfieldstandrewscc@gmail.com.

The area’s other GMCL clubs, meanwhile, kickstart their campaigns on April 19th.

Hadfield are at home again to Friarmere. 

North Road, meanwhile, sees Glossop 2nd XI play host to Moorside, whilst Mottram play host to Greenfield. 

All matches are a 12:30 start and clubhouses and facilities are open from 12 noon. 

The Derbyshire & Cheshire Cricket League also starts its League campaign on April 19th.