Whitminster Cricket Club are building for the future both on and off the pitch.

On the pitch their flagship team are flying high in Division Five of the County League and on Saturday host Cirencester 2nds after winning their first three league games of the campaign.

Off the field they are close to installing a new purpose-built wooden cricket pavilion, one which they hope will be up and running before the end of the season.

Whitminster’s league season ends at Parkend on Saturday 31^st August and the way they’ve started the campaign, they’ll certainly be hoping to be in the mix for a place in Division Four of the County League when they head to the Forest of Dean.

“Promotion is the aim,” confirmed captain Jack Price, who is in his second season in charge. “We’ve got off to a really good start.

“The average age of the side is coming down and we’ve got some good youngsters coming through.

“As a team we’ve been together for a while and the great thing is that everybody makes a contribution.”

Price, a middle-order batsman, has been with the club for 10 years after joining from Haresfield and this season’s impressive start is a continuation of much of the form they have shown in recent times.

This is their third season in Division Five – they were sixth in the 10-strong division in 2023 – and Price, who is 34, continued: “We’re on the up, the last five, six, seven years we’ve really kicked on.”

And they want to kick on again this season – it’s not so long ago they were in the Stroud League – and new signing Ben French, who made 108 in their 146-run win over Cheltenham Civil Service 2nds on Saturday, is certainly helping them to do just that.

“He’s joined us from Painswick, he’s had a massive impact,” said Price.

And two others who are having a massive impact are long-serving  opening batsman Ross Wakely and new-ball bowler Jake Clack.

Clack is one of the youngsters who has come into the first team in recent times and Price added: “He’s a very, very good bowler.”

The 2^nd XI, meanwhile, are also riding high in Division One of the Stroud League – they are one point and two places below leaders Stinchcombe Stragglers – with Price saying the club’s target is promotion for both their senior sides.

“As a committee we’re always looking to the next year, we don’t want to rest on our laurels,” he explained.

The club are very grateful to the support they have received from Whitminster Primary School, who have allowed them to use their facilities on matchdays while they await their new pavilion – their previous pavilion was deemed unsafe just before the start of last season – but it goes without saying that they’d like to have a home they can call their own.

That’s getting closer and closer, but the club, who also run a midweek friendly T20 team, are certainly not standing still.

“We’ve had new covers and new sightscreens,” said Price with some pride.

“The next thing we want is an electronic scoreboard.”

That’s for the future, a future that looks very rosy judging by the numbers attending the club’s Friday night All Stars and Dynamos sessions.

“Three years ago we didn’t have a youth set-up, now we’ve got about 50 youngsters signed up,” said Price.