Rainhill Recreationals
Rainhill Recreationals - originally founded as the "Sunday team" back in 1977 - has a long history of facilitating "cricket for all".
About us
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The Recreationals are social cricketers who play social cricket. We only play friendly matches and adopt an inclusive approach to the game. Everyone is welcome, whether you are an experienced cricketer or not and whether you want to play regularly or just the occasional game. We are proud to regularly field teams that are mixed-age and mixed-ability. We provide entry-level opportunities for disabled people and for women who want to play the hardball form of cricket.
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Our captain is Andi Page, who has been at Rainhill Cricket Club since 2013.
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More about us
We play a special brand of cricket. If you go to league games, which we're led to believe is the "serious" stuff, you'll see fitness freaks running laps of the field or training in nets from 9am for a 1pm match. You may see bowlers appealing to the umpire every time the ball hits a pad, however far outside off stump it is. That is not us. Basically we're about starting a match at 1pm and having an enjoyable afternoon, while giving the chance for everyone to play the game to the best of their abilities.
We've built a reputation over the last few decades for our friendly approach to the game, mainly due to the efforts of Joe Crossley who was captain until 2022 and is still playing well into his 80s.
As is fitting for a team that is away more often than Alan Whicker (look him up, young 'uns!), we enjoy going to new places and playing against new teams, hopefully making new friends along the way. We're a very inclusive group, usually a mix of men and women and always a mix of ability, and we hope to create a welcoming, non-pressurised environment in which everyone can play. The Recreationals are where parents play with sons and daughters and whoever was out last is the umpire.
Even more about us
OK, here's the important stuff.
We are looking for new players for the 2024. All you need are some spare Sunday afternoons and a sense of humour. Whether you've played that "serious" stuff in the past or you've never picked up a bat before, you'll be welcome here.
The annual membership fee if you only want to play social cricket is £35. That is an absolute bargain. The fee for playing in each match is £12, which is also pretty good value for money. It's less than that if you're disabled, a student, under 18, unwaged, are over 65 or have some other imaginative reason we haven't yet thought of.
You're not obliged to wear official club kit when you play for us. But it looks pretty cool so a few of us do anyway.
And the really important thing
We don't have umpires at our level, which inevitably leads to contentious lbw calls that would either never be given or never be contentious in "serious" cricket. The only thing anyone can agree on is that it's not an lbw if it's first ball. And that everyone is doing their best. So if you're taking on the unenviable task of telling Andi he's bowled another no ball or giving your teammate out to a dodgy delivery from Ben just to avenge the questionable decision they gave you last week... we're grateful for your efforts!
The team

RAINHILL RECREATIONALS T20 TEAM 2023
Back row (left to right): Naveen Sharma, Steve Fowle, Martin Snape, Alan Hitchmough, Anna Page, Matt Diggins, Ashley Jones, Kris Duffin, Simon Gibson.
Front row: Andi Page, Nathan Lawler, Melvin Siju, Anant Sharma, Noyal Joseph.
2023 fixtures and results
Team sponsors:
View results from previous seasons: