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Menston cricketers stumped by flooding crisis
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| A gloomy Nick Thornton inspects the flooded pitch. |
A popular village cricket club is facing disaster because the field on which members play is constantly flooding.
Members of Menston Cricket club claim that their grounds, leased from the Fox and Hound pub, have been regularly waterlogged ever since Bradford District Council replaced a surrounding wall several years ago.
Despite efforts to remove the water, the field is constantly flooding and can get up to a foot deep during heavy rainfall.
Matches have been regularly postponed and the club's thriving junior section has been unable to practise as a result of the soggy conditions.
Now the club is launching a desperate appeal for help to enable members to get the season under way.
Spokesman Nick Thornton said: "It really is bad. This weekend Menston was the only side in the whole Airedale and Wharfedale league that could not host a cricket match because of a waterlogged outfield.
"The whole outfield adjoining the wall is a bog with standing water all the way up to the pavilion which is next to the pub.
"With all the heavy rain we have been having it is just impossible to get going and the juniors in particular are missing out on vital practice. We never had a problem before the council built the new wall but so far they have refused to help us."
Mr Thornton claims that the concrete foundations of the wall are almost two feet below the previous levels.
He also believes that old rubble drains which were on the field before, were disturbed when the new wall was built.
He said: "It can't be coincidence that since the wall was built water remains on the ground worse than ever in the club's history.
"The council and constructors claim that they found no drains when they built the wall so had nothing to replace but some of the older members of the club are convinced that rubble drains were there and could easily have been missed when the new wall was put in.
"We have tried ourselves to remove the water and the club even bought a petrol driven pump to try to get rid of it.
"But we have removed thousands of gallons of water and are fighting a losing battle. We really need some help or advice soon to help us solve the problem."
Last year the club was out of action for six weeks following the floods in June with many games being cancelled.
Mr Thornton said: "It was awful and it looks as though it could happen again. We have had four days of sunshine and the ground is still soaking - we just don't know what else we can do."
The club, which has around 250 members, has been based in the village for more than 100 years. Famous players representing the club include Bill Bowes in 1945 and New Zealand test players Martin Crowe and Derek Stirling in 1986.
The junior section of the club has recently been developed and now has around 100 members with six junior teams in place.
Mr Thornton said: "We are a major part of the community and we badly need some help.
"The costs of drainage can run into thousands and we are running on a shoe-string budget. It cost us £250 for the petrol pump, which we could barely afford. We really need someone to come along, tell us what the problem is and how to solve it."
A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "We replaced an old wall and have no reason to believe that this would have made any flooding problem any worse."
Menston Cricket Club is still seeking volunteers and sponsors to help with the running of the club.
Members need help in every area from fundraising to tea servers and are appealing to local businesses to act as sponsors.
Anyone interested in helping should contact the club secretary John Bradley on (01943) 875417 or Nick Thornton on (01943) 877342.
5:27pm Thursday 8th May 2008
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