Club Spotlight
We take a visit to Natwest Club T20 winners Swardeston
While many clubs up and down the country are searching for an overseas professional to give them an added boost this season, Swardeston took a different approach in 2016 – and it paid off handsomely.
The Norfolk club managed to secure the services of former Sussex and Hampshire batsman Joe Gatting and with his help they won the NatWest Club T20 for the second time.
At the 3aaa County Ground in Derby in September, Swardeston beat Tunbridge Wells by 23 runs in the semi-final before defeating local side Sandiacre Town by 65 runs in the final.
The club also retained their East Anglian Premier League title for the fifth straight season and have now lifted the trophy in seven of the last ten years.
And after a dramatic one-run victory in the semi-final of the Royal London Club Championship, where Gatting made 91 off 88, Swardeston were one win away from a historic treble.
However, after restricting Tynesiders South Northumberland to just 159 all out at the County Ground in Northampton, Swardeston had a day to forget with the bat and were bowled out for 84.
But that would not distract from a historic year for the club and media officer and 4th XI captain Stuart Bartram was quick to praise Gatting’s all-round impact.
“We had one of those one-off years and I don’t know whether it will ever be repeated – the achievements of the first-team were outstanding,” he said.
“Like most clubs, we have always had an overseas professional but we made a decision towards the end of 2015 to try and get an English qualified player because we wanted them to play in the national competitions.
“We were very lucky Joe Gatting had just finished with Hampshire and that he had relocated to Norfolk, and that has been a fantastic success for the club.
“When you bring in a former professional, they have an extra dimension in the way they approach games which is great for the other players in the club.
“Joe has really elevated the team. He’s been great with coaching the kids and he scored 2,000 runs throughout the year.
“But more than that, he fitted in so well and he’s signed on for another two years.”
Now a cricket coach at Norwich School, Gatting’s full-time cricket career came to a premature end after his release from Hampshire in 2015.
But going the other way are former Swardeston youngsters Rob Newton and Callum Taylor, who have earned county contracts with Northamptonshire and Essex respectively after coming through the system in Norfolk.
Swardeston last won the national T20 competition at the Rose Bowl in Southampton in 2010 and while Bartram admitted that the NatWest Club T20 was on everyone’s radar, it was never going to be at the expense of another successful league campaign.
“Since that enjoyable day in Southampton we have forever been trying to repeat it,” he said.
“First-team captain Mike Thomas’ ambition was to try and win a national title.
“There are so many games that you need some luck on your side.You take each game but we didn’t want to lose sight of the bread and butter every Saturday in the East Anglian Premier League.
“We were keen to retain the title and we did that for the fifth year in succession. The T20 was one of those where sometimes your luck is in on the day.
“Just to get to the final was a fantastic achievement, one all the players were delighted about.”
Away from the first team, the club has three further adult teams competing in league cricket on a Saturday, with the second and third XIs both getting relegated in 2016.
But Swardeston continue to have a strong junior section with juniors from their U9s all the way up to the U19s and they will also be entering a women’s league team for the first time in 2017.
While the first-team may be enjoying unprecedented success, Bartram explains that there is much more to the club than competitive cricket – with coaches giving lessons in the community and in local schools.
“We have a great clubhouse spirit and we’re determined to be at the heart of the community.
“There are some fantastic people who have driven that forward,” he added.
“We are very concerned at trying to do the best for people and the young players will be integrated at the right time not just to be a fielder but to have key roles.
“The 1st XI may get the headlines but we want to be a communityfocused club and we work hard to do that.
“The club will try its hardest to repeat our success but we know years like that don’t come round very often.”
Like most clubs, we have always had an overseas professional but we made a decision to get an English-qualified player who could play in national competitions