Looking splendid, with two sets of French doors opening directly onto the main cricket pitch, the new clubhouse at Massey Ferguson CC gives no hint of the turbulent road the club has travelled to complete its construction and secure the future of the club. The pitches on the seven and a half acre site are used by eight cricket teams in the summer and 28 football teams in the winter, giving the club an in important role in the local sports scene.
Massey Ferguson CC is situated at the far end of the Bannerbrook housing estate on the south west edge of Coventry. Built by Persimmon Homes, this housing development led to a chain of events from which the club is only now emerging. In the first of WCB’s features on cricket in Coventry, Paul Proctor, Massey Ferguson CC Chairman, talks about the tortuous journey the club has undergone in recent years and how, with the major problems behind them, the club is now looking to a brighter future.
Can you give us a brief history of the challenges the club has faced in the last 20 years?
Going back to 2004, our original club house burnt down and we had to bring in Portacabins to use as changing rooms. Subsequently, Persimmon bought all the surrounding land, including the sports club, for development. It transpired, however, that the original grant from the Earl of Meriden to Massey Ferguson contained a covenant that our piece of land couldn’t be developed and had to be used for communal sporting events.
Persimmon couldn’t build on this land, so wanted to give the club the leasehold. That wasn’t acceptable to us as a club, as we knew we wouldn’t be able to receive any funding or grants unless we owned the freehold. Eventually, five years ago, Persimmon came round to our way of thinking and gave us the freehold to the land, also agreeing to build a new club house.
Progress by Persimmon towards completing the new club house was slow, so we came to an arrangement whereby the club organised the outstanding work and Persimmon would pay for it. This approach involved me as chairman and the committee in a lot of extra work but between us we had the necessary expertise and the club house was finally finished in November 2020.
During the last five years I have felt like I’ve been banging my head against a wall at times, and I still think a lot of people don’t understand or appreciate what we’ve had to go through to get everything done. I’m very pleased at how it’s turned out, but I do feel like I need a month’s sleep now!
What’s your family involvement at the club?
As well as the committee, I also get a lot of support from my family. My wife runs the café at weekends and my three sons help by driving the tractor and marking, scarifying and rolling the pitches. They all get involved playing cricket at football. My youngest son Harry helps on All Stars night and recently took his first wicket for the first team aged just 15.
Personally, I work in my day job five days a week but I’m up here four nights every week, all day Saturday and on Sunday morning, so it is a big commitment.
How do you manage the overlap between the football and cricket seasons?
Yes, there is always an overlap at the start and end of each season, which presents challenges. This year it was worse than usual as the football season went on longer because of Covid. I have to rearrange the cricket squares for mid-week matches in order to get the football season completed. Cricket teams playing here mid-week have to play on an alternative pitch, but it’s the only way to get it all done.
What has the Covid situation meant for the club?
The biggest problem during lockdown was when some people used the pitches as a public park. They didn’t appreciate this is a private sports ground and a lot of work goes into maintaining the pitches. Many people didn’t keep to the public footpaths along the sides of the ground, so we had a few interesting encounters while I was on the tractor mowing the pitches!
Luckily, we’ve had lots of support from the residents of the Bannerbrook housing estate who realise what a thankless task it has been to keep the pitches in tact with lockdowns and poor weather. Many of them have children who played here in the past or are now, and they are supportive of our social events when we were able to hold them.
What are your thoughts on the future of Massey Ferguson CC?
The youngsters coming through are the future of the club. There is nothing better on a Friday night than sitting on a tractor and seeing 40 children smiling, laughing and having the time of their lives at our All Stars sessions. They are a breath of fresh air in the club. We need a strong junior section to survive and it’s great to see All Stars doing so well under Aaron Baker’s supervision.
In terms of further physical development of the club, we still have a pile of rubble beyond the new club house where the previous club house used to be. In time, we would like to develop that piece of land into some storage for machinery and equipment, and maybe some fixed nets too.
There is no doubt, talking to Paul Proctor, the club has emerged from a challenging time over a number of years. Paul Proctor has picked up a baton handed to him by previous Chairman and current Club President John Askew. Both have done an excellent job of dealing with the Persimmon situation and developing Massey Ferguson CC.
Ed McCabe, WCB General Manager, says, “John Askew has a deep passion for Massey Ferguson CC, and for cricket across the whole Coventry area. I wish to congratulate him on his steadfastness and perseverance over the years. I sincerely hope he can now sit back and enjoy watching cricketers at Massey Ferguson CC enjoying their sport and feel proud of his efforts.”
There is a sense that the worst is over, and the club can now start to enjoy its new facilities. In the short term, however, that won’t involve using the roller on the pitch: at the time of writing, a robin had built a nest inside the roller and laid five eggs. There are lots of new beginnings, large and small, at Massey Ferguson CC!
