Simon Trott first joined Overton Cricket Club at under 11s level, batting and bowling his way through his teenage years and beyond. Some thirty three years later and Simon now is more integral to club than ever.
As the communication secretary, Simon is tasked with the upkeep of the website, the many social media platforms clubs are expected to be on these days and to deal with pesky reporters from the local magazine. Simon does so dutifully and quite brilliantly; in fact, the way the club has embraced the digital platforms has been recognized nationally, when Simon was nominated for, and won, The Cricketer Magazine Pride of Cricket, Social Media Hero Award!
CommunityAd had the pleasure of a chat with the local hero who can barely wait to start telling us what a community-minded club Overton is.
“The community is at the heart of everything we do. Nearly all our senior members live in or are from the village. At youth level we provide something for 5–13-year-olds with cricket happening for one age group or another every day during the summer! This year we’re working towards building our own clubhouse at the main ground, a first for the club. Subject to planning approval, we hope this small pavilion will be a welcoming environment for all, with family and friends being able to enjoy the atmosphere while watch the sport we love.”
What a remarkable year 2021 was for the club, despite the pandemic still very much at large you had so much to celebrate, didn’t you?
2021 was incredible. Our All Stars Programme, for 5–8-year-olds, far exceeded our expectations with 67 kids taking part. We hope to repeat this success this season.
Our Age Group cricket set up is the future of the club. Many of the current senior side played in this system growing up and this year was one of the largest we’ve ever had, with over 100 youngsters playing cricket. Our Under 9s went on to win their league.
Our senior sides also prospered. The 1st XI came extremely close to knocking out Southern Premier League side, Paultons, in a snow affected National Village Knockout fixture, and finished the season on great form. Our 2nd team, lead by Steve Kent, went on to win their league title in convincing fashion gaining a much-desired promotion while our 3rd team provided a great platform for some young stars to develop their game alongside seasoned veterans!
The youngsters associated with the club really seem to be flourishing; how proud are you of Amelia Gray and Alice Monaghan?
We are extremely proud of their achievements and I’m sure they appreciate what role models they are for all young athletes in the village. They have really showcased the opportunities that Overton provides for young people to get involved in sport whether it’s athletics like Amelia, cricket like Alice, or all the other sports such as football, tennis, golf, swimming, and rugby, to name a few.
To see Alice playing on national TV was incredible. She even found time in her busy schedule to join in with our last All Stars session, taking part in the games and taking questions from the kids.
Amelia has been a regular around the club for most of her life, coming along with her dad Charlie. This season the players tried to replicate her triple jump records, and nobody could get close, much to her amusement.
Cricket season will soon be upon us, tell our readers what they’ve got to look forward to this year? And why they should get involved?
We’re also working on setting up a Women’s section, playing soft ball cricket. Named W10, this has the full support of the Hampshire Cricket Board and will be a great way to get involved in a new sport. You can read more about it on our website.
We’re also running girls age group teams for the very first time with girls Under 9 and Under 13 sides! The number of girls playing the sport now is incredible and we hope this will encourage even more to take part.
Our senior teams are raring to go with a new first team captain, Charlie Bowden, a second team that will be looking for consecutive promotions and our develop and social 3rd team providing a great environment to enjoy playing cricket. We’re a club for everyone, where friends are made for life and enjoyment is a priority.