Farnham Common unveiled their new nets last Sunday with a ceremony to mark the culmination of a long-running project, following a generous bequest by one of the club’s founder members, Stan Sidders.

Members of the Sidders’ family, representatives from the Parish and District Councils, Bucks Cricket and Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve joined club members to officially open the nets (pictured below) and enjoy a celebratory lunch.

Stan Sidders was one of a small team of villagers who in the late 1950s approached the Parish Council for permission to develop the site, off One Pin Lane, to create a cricket club from scratch.

Farnham later applied for and achieved ECB Clubmark status in recognition of its commitment to prioritising junior development, and providing high quality community club cricket.

Gaining ‘Clubmark’ meant the club could successfully apply for grants from the ECB and the Mobbs Memorial Trust.

This additional funding, alongside the Sidders’ legacy, enabled the club to build the new nets.

Club Development Manager Scott Wilcox said: “The nets will not only give us a top notch practice facility but a massive morale boost to kick-start what will hopefully be a successful season.

“The club as a whole would like to express their thanks to the generous benefactors, as well as those whose hard work made this happen.” **PICK up a copy of The Observer, out every Friday, for all the latest sports news and action including our complete cricket round-up** **FOLLOW The Observer on Twitter at @Observer_sports**