Budleigh Salterton Cricket hosted its annual sponsors day on Saturday, August 3, and went on to scoop three major awards the following day.

On Saturday around 100 invited guests from the businesses and families who have sponsored the club in the last year were formally thanked for their support and generosity with a lunch and drinks reception at The Holt.

In his presentation, director Bill Roper referred to the club’s new status as a community hub, a venue for a variety of sports and a destination for improving access to cricket at grassroots level, for children, for women and for those with disabilities, while continuing to serve as the home for BSCC’s own senior sides.

Guests were shown photos of the old clubhouse under water at Ottermouth, a nod to the club’s flood-stricken history and a celebration of the efforts involved in its relocation and re-birth at The Holt - made possible thanks to the Environment Agency, the support of landlords Clinton Devon Estates and the generosity of sponsors.

BSCC director and treasurer Andy Drodge said: “It was truly a pleasure to welcome so many of our club sponsors to The Holt Bar and Terrace on Saturday afternoon to join us for a drink, buffet and cricket to say a massive thank you for their unstinting support to the club.

"The BSCC 2nd XI’s match against Uplyme and Lyme Regis 1st XI made a perfect backdrop to the event. We could not continue to grow and develop without our sponsors.”

On Sunday representatives from the club were invited to Somerset County Cricket Ground for the Devon Cricket Foundation Cricket Collective Awards 2024. BSCC made the shortlist for five awards of the 15 awards available to clubs from all over Devon, and walked away with three of them.

(Image: Emma Cooling) Coach and director Bill Roper won the ‘Inspired to play’ award for his services to coaching and developing the junior sides, fundraising manager Carolyn Roper received the ‘Unsung hero’ award for raising around £400k for the club, and the club itself scooped the ‘Tackling Climate Change’ award in recognition of the impressive eco-credentials of its new home.

Alex Jopling, Clubs and Programmes Manager at Devon Cricket Foundation, said: “Congratulations to all of the volunteers at Budleigh Salterton CC for their incredible work over the last couple of years. The thriving junior section and the success of the amazing new facility at The Holt is down to the dedication of these individuals.”