August Newsletter 2025: Academy Roundup, Summer Courses, Presentation Evening and New Adult team

Dear all, 

 

 

I hope you all enjoyed the cricket season and the very dramatic conclusion of the England vs India Test Match series – sport at its finest and most compelling! We are now on the closing straight  of the cricket season this year: academy fixtures have concluded for all our junior teams and MP Summer Holiday Courses are now in full swing. Spots are still available for the remaining courses that are taking place. Courses generally follow the timetable below:     

 

10:00 – 12:00     Cricket skills (fielding, batter, bowling)

12:00 – 13:00     Lunch (not provided) and tuck shop

13:00 – 15:00     Matches

 

Please head to our website (Summer Course information) for the details and do let others know of the courses who may be able to benefit. Anyone who wants to come along and play would be most welcome. We are thinking of adding a 6^th Summer Course after Bank Holiday Monday on the 26th, 27th, 28^th August. We will only put the course on if there is enough demand so if you would be interested in this, let us  

 

As we have come to the end of league season, this newsletter is a good opportunity to update members on the progress of the Academy teams over the course of the season. Undoubtedly, one of the main highlights of the year has been the very strong performances of the U11 team who won all but one of the league matches they played. This is a very impressive feat and all the boys should be very proud of their performances over the year. Please follow the link here to the ADCML South league table – as you will see, we are level on points with Aston Rowant so we are currently seeking clarification as to who will play the winners of the North Division in the Bucks Age Group finals.

 

For the U9 team, I’m sure the players and parents will all have their own individual highlights of the season. I thought that the win against Thame at the end of the season was emblematic of how the team had improved and united over the season resulting in a great win. Whilst winning fixtures is good and something to be aimed for, our main goal is to help kids improve and foster a love of the game which could stay with the children throughout their whole lives. I hope the parents and players of the U9s feel that we have gone someway to achieving that this season. For the U13s, we have had quite a small squad this year which has been frustrating as at times opportunities for fixtures have been limited. When the boys did get an opportunity to play, they applied themselves very well and we hope they feel they have improved over the year. Next year, we hope to give more opportunities for this age group to play, both by having a bigger U13 squad and by running an adult team. 

 

As outlined above from next season, we hope to enter an Adult team into the Cherwell League and we have made an application to the league.

 

We know that there are very many people that enjoy playing junior cricket but don’t make the transition to adult cricket. Therefore, we see setting up an adult team as a good chance to get old academy members to rediscover the joy of playing cricket once again. Another factor in prompting us to set up an adult team is that it will enable Fathers and Sons to play together which would be very special for those involved.

 

Please do keep an eye out for further information on this initiative and feel free to forward on the emails to those who may be interested. If you would be interested in joining or taking part, get in touch with Manoj over the phone or via email.

 

We are also wanting to set up a Girls Team for next year. The growth of women’s cricket and women’s sport in general has been marked and therefore we feel that now is the time to set up a dedicated girls team and give girls opportunity to play cricket and participate in fixtures against other clubs. If you are interested in this or know people that may be interested in taking part, please get in touch with Manoj who would love to get as many girls playing as possible.  

Finally, a date for your diaries: on Friday 12^th September, we will be having the Presentation Evening at the Academy Ground. We will be reflecting back on the past season, recognising players’ achievements, and playing some parents vs children cricket to round off the Evening and the Season. It promises to be a fun occasion so please do save the date.  

 

MP Cricket Academy Voluntary (Physical): We have recently planted some more English Willow Trees. Our ambition is that these will be turned into cricket bats for the next generation of aspiring cricketers.  We require a few people who have some free time to help water the Willow trees at the ground, they have been growing very nicely over the last few years and that is without doubt thanks to our volunteers who want to remain nameless. If you would also like to help, please contact us using the information below. 

 

MP Sports Development Trust (Admin): We would like someone to help organise events and locations and to help sort funding for the various free Events we do, for Example Sports in the Street, Free Badminton Tournaments, Free Cricket courses, Free coaching at schools etc. 

 

Alternatively, you can also help by volunteering, to do so just go to the volunteering section of our website linked below: https://mpsportsdevelopmenttrust.org.uk/

We are currently in the process of looking for sponsors/investors. 

 

Founder and Director, Manoj Parmar is an ex-first-class cricketer from Saurashtra in India.  Mr Parmar’s main aim is to inspire future generations of young cricketers to achieve their maximum potential and to help children become more active.  For the past 36 years, he has worked tireless to offer a high-quality coaching and competition programme in and around Thame.  He is determined to introduce children to the world of sport and offers a vast array of sporting opportunities at the ground.  MP Sports Cricket Academy offers a comprehensive list of activities throughout the year including, indoor cricket matches during the winter; soft and hard ball practice; international courses; and diving catch practice at the local pool. The ground currently boasts two full sized cricket grounds and has brand new grass nets.  Since its creation in 2009, the club has continued to grow, supporting 27 state schools in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and catering for children as young as six, up to adult. The academy has a membership of over 100, with 400 children attending cricket camps over the summer.  Clubs from across the county attend tournaments throughout the year and cricket teams/companies rent the ground for private matches and corporate events.

 

We are looking to acquire some more basic facilities at our sports ground, such as men’s and women’s toilets. Currently the cost of the changing rooms and toilets is about £25,000, this is the kind of money that we do not have. We would greatly appreciate any donations or sponsorship from your business; we will provide an invoice. Your donation would make a huge difference to our daily operations as we will be able to provide people with even more events at our ground with these facilities. Sports are vital in our daily lives, they help improve your health, mental health, and is the ideal way to get rid of your stress.

 

Any donations would be most welcome, our bank details are: Account name: MP Sports Development Trust Sort code: 30-98-56 Account number: 19852860 Cheques are also acceptable.

 

With such a vast network, sponsorship at MP Sports Cricket Academy is a great way to advertise your products or services to a whole new group of people.

 

If you are interested in sponsoring us or investing in the cricket academy, or know of a company that may be, please do let us know, we can give you a wide range of options to choose from. 

 

 

Best wishes, 

Admin Team