The GCC work force weekend is this week. Please make the effort to come up and lend a hand, if only for a couple of hours. We all want to use the club and it’s facilities in the coming weeks so we should all lend a hand to get things ready rather than leave it to the usual people. It is both days so if you work or play sport Saturday then you can come and do a bit on Sunday instead! Hopefully see plenty of you there from 9:30 Saturday morning. The sooner nets etc are up and ready, the sooner we can play cricket! Danny Cash, Club Captain

Welcome to the Garboldisham Cricket Club website. You’ll find all our latest news on the Home & news page. Scroll down for older news stories or access them via From the archives in the right hand column. We hope you like and enjoy using our site. Please give us your feedback and do remember to send us all your news, match reports and photos so that we can keep the site really up-to-date. You can use the contact form at the bottom of the contacts page. We look forward to the new season in 2018. Good luck and best wishes to all!

Ian’s funeral service took place in late December 2014. Woolpit church was packed to the rafters with over 500 people who had come to pay their respects to Ian who had been a huge part of Garboldisham CC for many, many years and a good friend to all, a fine cricketer and a real gentleman. Here is Robert’s moving tribute to Yogi from the service: “My brief this afternoon is to talk to you about Ian the cricketer and it’s an honour to do so. For those of you who don’t know me I had the privilege of playing with Ian for 34 years at Garboldisham Cricket Club. I first met Ian on a sunny Sunday afternoon in June 1981 in his native Suffolk. We were playing a friendly against Hadleigh and John Hogg had alerted us to a school mate who had opened the bowling at Culford and was looking for a game. Ian was duly invited to play and, in typical fashion, breezed in, bowled like the wind, took three wickets, had several beers afterwards …

In early January the old oak tree that has always stood guard over the ground, was finally toppled by the winter storms. The tree which was semi hollow inside – a sign of its ripe old age – was estimated to be between 300 and 400 years old! If anyone has any stories about the tree or a more accurate idea of its age, then do let us know.

During the summer season we run our fantastic Friday evening coaching and net sessions for youngsters from the ages of 5 to 15. Once children have been registered they can attend the sessions which cost just £x per week. The sessions are run by Sarah McGahan, our Youth Teams Manager and Ladies captain. All our Friday evening coaches are ECB Level 2 or Level 1 and CRB checked. Our star coach is ex Kent player Steve Goldsmith (Goldie) who runs Red Mist Cricket. Come along and join us – all new children are very welcome! The picture shows just some of the children who attended Friday evening sessions in 2014. This group are all from Thetford Grammar who travel from all over Norfolk to train and play at Garboldisham.

Garboldisham beat Old Buckenham in a close run final and became the winners of the Breckland Indoor League competition at Thetford Leisure Centre. Rob Fuller (capt. pictured above being presented with the trophy from Kevin Denmark), Paul Feavearyear, Gavin Barnes, Peter Barnes, Paul Baker, Sam Baker, Charlie Worby , Andrew Whistler and Luke Rackham were the players who made up the Garboldisham squad. Here’s how the match was reported in the EDP on 19 February… The evening runs similarly to the domestic Twenty20 finals day, with four teams competing on the same evening to battle for the indoor crown. Old Buckenham, who won the Thetford group, overcame a spirited North Elmham side who have been knocked out in the semi-finals two years in a row.Garboldisham’s experience told as they comfortably overcame a youthful Bradenham side who have not reached their full potential in finals evening for the second year running and have also been knocked out at the semi-final stage for consecutive years. This meant that for a second year running the final would be between Old Buckenham and Garboldisham. …

Don’t forget that we have two remaining winter net sessions booked at UEA Sportspark on Monday 9 March and  Monday 23 March. Please do try and come along. We hope to see plenty of people there.

2015 will be the third year that the club has particpated in the ECB’s Chance to Shine programme which was set up by the ECB to spread the power of cricket in schools and communities. Our coaches work with children in local primary and secondary schools which include: Diss High, Stradbroke High, Garboldisham Primary, Hopton Primary and Kenninghall Primary schools. Coaches are busy throughout the summer terms teaching children in KS2 and KS3 and children learn key skills and rules and an understanding of fair play and the spirit of cricket. Competition is an important element of the programme. Garboldisham CC has one of the highest migration rates in England of children from local schools joining the club’s youth section.

We were all stunned to hear of the death of our good friend and Garboldisham cricketing legend Ian ‘Yogi’ Melvin on 8 December 2014 after a short and cruel illness. The club is in mourning and the club flag has been flying at half mast above the pavilion.

A young Garboldisham B team, captained by Jack Stevenson,  finished top of the Lucas Fettes Norfolk League Division 3 to win promotion to Divison 2 next season. Jack and the lads topped the division for much of the season and were worthy winners. Jack put their success down to great team work, commitment and a core of dedicated players that were ever present. Jack was extremely proud to have been given the opportunity to captain the team and he will lead the team out again in 2015. His ambition is that they’ll win the title again and progress to the very top of the Norfolk Cricket League. Some of the team are pictured above collecting their award.