Derbyshire Chief Executive Simon Storey has hailed another successful Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council.
Over 8,000 people attended the week-long festival across five days of cricket, as Derbyshire claimed a four-day win over Northamptonshire before securing a dramatic Vitality Blast victory against Yorkshire Vikings on Saturday.
The Twenty20 fixture was played in front of a 4,500 sold out crowd at Queen’s Park, the second year in a row the match has been an advance sell out as the popularity of the festival continues to grow.
Storey said: “It was a terrific week of cricket and wrapping it up with victory in the last over against Yorkshire on Saturday capped off a memorable week in the north of the county.
“Queen’s Park is a special venue and Members, supporters and players always enjoy the annual trip to Chesterfield.
“The festival brings many benefits to the local community, with thousands of people visiting the town, while it also provides local school kids and cricket club juniors the opportunity to enjoy county cricket right on their doorstep.
“Taking county cricket to Chesterfield is always a huge operational challenge for our off-field team, Chesterfield Cricket Club and Chesterfield Borough Council. Running a matchday safely at an out-ground is hugely challenging and in particular the operations team led by Jamie Guthrie, ground care team led by Neil Godrich and commercial team led by Ryan Duckett work hard for many weeks in preparation.
“A successful festival also relies on partnerships and the support of the local community. We are fortunate to work with local partners such as Custom Solar and Brampton Brewery, and we also get the full support of Chesterfield Borough Council, Chesterfield Cricket Club and Friends of Queen’s Park Cricket. We are hugely grateful for the support we receive.
“The highlight of the week was undoubtedly another sell-out crowd for the traditional Vitality Blast fixture against Yorkshire, and they were treated to one of the best Twenty20 matches the venue has ever seen.
“Every year we look to improve and grow the festival. One thing we will need to review for future years is our policy around Member tickets for any all-ticket match.
“Our post-match analysis suggests that a large number of Members who claimed tickets in advance did not turn up on the day, which meant we were unable the sell those tickets to other fans who wanted to watch the match. As a result, we missed out on significant income, all of which could have been invested back into the Club. I’m sure Members will appreciate that we will need to look at this as part of our Membership package for next year.
“On the whole, it was a terrific week at Queen’s Park with good crowds, excellent cricket and, most importantly, two wins for Derbyshire.
“What made it more satisfying was to see our young Derbyshire home-grown players play a key role in all the matches. As a Club, we remain committed to the development of our young players and we must continue to build for the future and produce cricketers who can consistently win games for the county.”
Vitality Blast is back! Derbyshire Falcons are back at home on Friday 3 August against Birmingham Bears. Purchase your tickets in advance and save from £4. Buy online or call 01332 388 101.
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