'Homeless' after row over pitch (From Witney Gazette)

'Homeless' after row over pitch

3:34pm Monday 27th March 2006 in Witney By Andrew Alexander

A VILLAGE cricket team finds itself on a sticky wicket after it was banned from using its home pitch.

s=8Wootton and Bladon Cricket Club is due to play its first game against Minster Lovell on April 16 at home but is looking for a spare pitch, following a dispute with the management of Wootton's playing fields.

A disagreement over fees and use of the pavilion at Wootton led to a confrontation last summer, after which the club was told it could no longer play in the village.

Club fixtures secretary, Derek Hambridge, said: "The original argument was a series of little niggles. They had some restrictions on how we used the pavilion. They put the fees up, and we had some problems with the way the pitch was being looked after.

"This culminated in the lady, who is the secretary of the Playing Fields Association, coming on to the pitch demanding that we stop playing, and there was a right old barney. One player went over the top and said one or two things which he later regretted, and they threw us off the ground.

"We've tried to make peace, but we've had the phone put down on all of us. I've written to them, but I got a pretty strong letter back. We've appealed to the parish council, which is their landlord.

"It's an absolute shame that we've got a cricket team that wants to play in the village, but can't, because of a very small disagreement. It's a shame to take sport away from the village."

Dave Wiggins, landlord of the Killingworth Castle pub

"We have people who live in the village and play for the team. This is denying the village the opportunity of a sporting, social and economic occasion."

When contacted by the Witney Gazette, Ann Day, from the Playing Fields Association, declined to comment, saying only: "It's all finished and finalised."

Wootton parish councillor Paul James said: "Although we're technically the landlord, we've devolved our responsibility to the Playing Fields Association. That's a long-standing arrangement, and it's up to them to decide how to deal with it. The parish council decided they would stand behind the decision of the Playing Fields Association."

The cricket club, which played at Bladon until three years ago, when it was told by Blenheim Palace the ground was needed for palace events, is trying to find available pitches to play the season's fixtures. Dave Wiggins is landlord of the Killingworth Castle pub, in Wootton, where the club has its social events.

He said: "It's an absolute shame that we've got a cricket team that wants to play in the village, but can't, because of a very small disagreement. It's a shame to take sport away from the village."