WAVERTREE'S FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

Date: 3rd November 2025

As the nights get darker and the cricket world In the Comp reflects on another eventful and for some, successful, and for Ormskirk, very successful, season in 2025 ( all brilliantly documented in Tom Evans online eBook 2025 – see details on the Club Notice Board) spare a thought for one of our clubs, Wavertree, literally, fighting for survival.

We know that some of our clubs already have done so, and we know that Merseyside Cricket online, Radio Merseyside, and the Liverpool Echo and others have documented the club’s plight, and it’s about time that the League did so as well.

Put simply. almost 12 months ago the club were informed by their Landlord Company that their rent was to be increased from 6k to 20k per year. An attempt to buy the land outright was rejected, and with an annual commitment to pay 20k not feasible in the long term, the club have negotiated a deal to buy the controlling shares of the Company for the sum of 200k by December 2026.

As Club Chair Phill O’Brien says, “ this is a fight for the preservation of a cricket resource, not just a cricket club”. We agree. Quite apart from the staggering amount of the proposed increase in rent and the acknowledged contribution that Wavertree makes to both the local community and the wider game of cricket, it is a cause well worth fighting for.

A Registered Charity, the club have set about raising the huge sum through a fundraising website Fundraise for Wavertree CC are arranging a spectacular Memorabilia raffle and are looking for any donations, and most specifically have set up a Community lottery which can be accessed here. Community Lottery

Phill O’Brien thanks all those who have joined the lottery so far, “ it's humbling when other clubs reach out.This is an opportunity to secure this facility for cricket for as long as people want to play there”

Just a thought.

Liverpool and District Cricket Competition Management Committee