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11:36am Wednesday 12th October 2011 in Essex County Cricket Club news By Chris Phillips
TONIGHT is the night for the people of the Southend to show they care about the cancellation of the town’s cricket festival.
Essex Cricket Club have opted to bring the event to an end after 105 years.
And fans of the sport are being urged to attend a meeting this evening to show their disgust at the decision.
“Anyone who has been disappointed by what has gone on should come along tonight,” said Trevor Lawrence, chairman of the task force festival committee.
“We want to show that the people of Southend care about their cricket and the festival, and that we’re disappointed about Essex’s decision to end the festival.
“It’s also a chance for us to tell some truths about what’s happened.
“We can also discuss what we can do about the future of cricket in our town and trying to get the decision eventually overturned.”
The meeting will be taking place at the Civic Centre, in Victoria Avenue, Southend, and will start at 6.15pm.
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2112 says...
1:41pm Wed 12 Oct 11
The festival brings cricket to grass roots Southend, particularly young people. Its loss will be costly to cricket throughout the county, but particularly in the south.
The cancellation decision appears to have been brought about by a vociferous few crotchety members who would rather stay in Chelmsford than travel to Southend.
The Southend festival has higher attendances than Chelmsford based matches and makes significantly more money than the remaining festival in Colchester.
The decision is clearly flawed and every effort must be made to overturn it.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make the meeting as it is too early, but I’ll be there in spirit.