Leamington Cricket Club get sponsorship boost

Caption: Grant Thoday (left) with director of cricket Neil Smith of Warwickshire and England, head of youth cricket Mark Davison and Kevin Mitchell, club chairman.

Handles, a family-owned agent, will have its name on kits and has provided some funding for the programme.

Cricket club chairman Kevin Mitchell said: “This sponsorship has allowed us to invest further in coaching at Leamington, where more than 250 children attend coaching sessions every Friday.

“These funds have allowed us to invest in additional equipment and to extend our academy for promising youngsters.”

Grant Thoday, managing director of Handles Property, said: “We are pleased to be able to support the local community and enable more children to participate in local sport from a young age.”

Leamington Cricket Club, based in Arlington Avenue, runs four sides every Saturday.

The 1st XI plays in division one of the Birmingham and District Premier League, one of the most prestigious competitions in the country; and the 2nd XI plays in the Premier Division of the Birmingham League.

There is a youth and junior section and also a girls section.

The club was founded on February 21 1899.

The first recorded match on the ground was in 1900, when Leamington played Stratford-upon-Avon.

The ground hosted its first first-class match in 1905, when Warwickshire played Hampshire.

In 1979, the ground hosted its first ICC Trophy match between the Netherlands and the United  States.

In the 1982 ICC Trophy it held a match between Zimbabwe and Canada and in the 1986 ICC Trophy between Hong Kong and the United States.