A new LGBTQ+ team aims to create a diverse sports space on Merseyside.
Mersey Rose Recreationals Cricket Club want to promote inclusivity on the crease, which some members felt was lacking.
The club will welcome people regardless of their age, disability, ethnicity, upbringing and skill level.
Club chairman Joe Crossley hopes to see the club continue encouraging people from all walks of life to get involved.
The 88-year-old from Rainhill said: “I’m not interested in genders or how people choose to identify, because I see everyone as a cricket player.
“Through my experience of playing cricket for many years I have come across negative people, but I can assure you that bullies will never play for us.
“People who play for us understand that we don’t play competitively, it is simply all about building a strong community of people who get along and have a laugh with one another.
“That was what I hated about playing competitively, it felt that the fun was sucked out of the games and that it was a matter of life or death if you lost. Here, we just want to create a fun, diverse sports space.”
The club play friendly fixtures against other teams within the area, where they have mixed-gender hard and softball teams.
Softball cricket at the club was started to support entry-level players to learn the sport and help support disabled members. The hardball team play their fixtures every Sunday, with the softball team playing midweek fixtures.
Andi Page, the hardball captain, aims to ensure that the Mersey Rose Cricket Club inspires a change in English cricket after last year’s ICEC report, which highlighted problems within cricket in the country
The 46-year-old from St Helens said: “It was a terrible report, in the sense that it showed how bad the problem is within English cricket.
“But it’s a good report in the sense that it means clubs like us can hopefully do something about that and that’s one of the reasons why we exist, because we want to be different and inclusive. We want to be the change that and to change the culture of cricket.”
The club took inspiration from the Birmingham Unicorns, a team who share similar values to the Merseyside-based organisation.
Anna Page captains the Mersey Rose softball team and is also club secretary. The 43-year-old said: “We aim to create an inclusive community where everyone gets involved with cricket, regardless of their background. It’s never been all about winning and won’t be, it’s about creating friendships and removing barriers.
“I enjoy captaining the softball team, I love the friendly aspect of the sessions and mixing different people allows us to interact, which we may not have done without Mersey Rose.”
Anyone interested in trying out the sport can contact the club at [email protected]
