Happy days at Dumbleton Cricket Club. The club, of course, have always enjoyed playing at one of the most idyllic grounds in the county but beyond that there’s much, much more to this go-ahead club.

The men’s 1st XI are in the top four of Premier Two of the Gloucestershire/Wiltshire Division after last season’s promotion, the club have long had a thriving youth set-up and the women’s section is going from strength to strength.

This summer – for the first time in the club’s 133-year history – Dumbleton extended their cricket week to two weeks with the first week dedicated to junior and women’s fixtures.

And the new-look week couldn’t have got off to a better start with a real thriller of a game to kick-off proceedings – a T20 game between Dumbleton’s women’s 1st XI and Poulton.

It was Dumbleton’s final game in this season’s Cotswold District Cricket League and emerging Wales and Western Storm player Danielle Gibson was among the near 100 watching crowd.

Seventeen-year-old all-rounder Gibson, who spent many of her junior years working her way up through the age groups at Dumbleton, was given a warm welcome home just a day after making her Kia Women’s Super League debut in a Western Storm win over Yorkshire Diamonds.


Poulton won the toss and made a quickfire start, reaching 46 after just 7.4 overs before Karen Attwood took a catch off Nat Berry’s bowling. A 75-run partnership between Gabby Reeves (51 not) and Faye Webber (37) stretched Dumbleton further and the visitors eventually reached a very challenging 146-2.

Dumbleton’s reply began in uncertain fashion when Georgii Bragg, who has enjoyed a fine season, fell early to Tosca Knight.

But Abbie Whybrow joined Ellie Fleck and they added 75 runs in the next 11 overs before Fleck (38) was trapped LBW to Reeves.

But Whybrow (51 rtd not) kept on going and with good support from Helen Hopkins (21 not), Dumbleton reached their target with just five balls to spare.

The win ensured that Dumbleton finished runners-up in just their second season in the CDCA League. It concludes a memorable season of success for the women’s section because the under-12 girls were crowned as GCB Indoor League winners, the under-13 girls won GCB League (North) and the under-15 girls were GCB Blast finalists.

In total, 55 women and girls have played in more than 50 indoor or outdoor competitive fixtures for the club across the county this season.