NOT many local sportsmen and women can lay claim to having set up a club from scratch, White Horse chairman Ian Sharpe has done it twice.

Sharpe, who also doubles up as skipper of the Broad Hinton side, was part of the founding committee which grew Winterbourne Bassett out of nothing but an idea over a pint in the early 1980s.

That club, located just off the A4361 between Wroughton and Devizes, thrived for more than 20 years before being moved off the land on which they had built a home in 2006.

A year in the cricketing wilderness followed as Sharpe and his clubmates of all ages and abilities acted as nomads for a season while the ground at Manor Farm, kindly offered up by the Horton family in Broad Hinton, was prepared for use.

In 2007 White Horse was born out of the ashes of Winterbourne Bassett, and a renaissance began.

Sharpe explains: “The cricket club was formed through meeting in the local pub in Winterbourne Bassett and Richard (Bays, founding member) came up with the idea to start a cricket side,” he said.

“We raised a side of 11 players and went out to play a pub side from Clyff Pypard. We played a couple of games over a year and said we’d try to form a club in Winterbourne Bassett.

“We spent 18 months or two years preparing the ground for cricket.

“The philosophy was to play traditional village cricket. We had a small fixture list for a few seasons and as people started to realise it was a serious venture then it grew from there.

“It went from strength to strength with the support of the village, although that waned towards the end.

“Then we had the debacle about whether we were going to keep the land or not, which we duly didn’t, before we had the help of the Horton family who gave us use of their land in Broad Hinton.

“They gave us the land and it took two or three seasons to get it working.”

Following the move to Broad Hinton, White Horse soon found their membership growing and their weekend opposition weakening.

In 2011 a decision was made to make the jump into league cricket, and in only their second year in the Wiltshire County Cricket League, White Horse are challenging for promotion in Division Six.

Thanks to the runs of Chris Ladd and John Candy and the wickets of Mark Watling and Sharpe, amongst others, Horse are within a point of table-topping Cherhill.

“We kept playing non-league cricket until a point came where the strength of the teams we were playing got weaker,” said Sharpe.

“We were getting stronger and needed more competition and therefore we made the jump into the league.”

White Horse features a squad of players drawn from all aspects of local life - from farmers to builders, bank managers to project managers, journalists to students learning the game.

It’s a timely reminder that local clubs can face up to adversity through togetherness and a love of their chosen sport.

Sharpe and White Horse have done that not once but twice, and as a result Broad Hinton has a cricket club its community can both enjoy and be proud of.

CLUB HISTORY

WHITE Horse cricket club was born Winterbourne Bassett cricket club in 1983 before being evicted from its land in the village in 2006. It spent one year as a nomad side before
relocating in Broad Hinton at Manor Farm. The club plays in Wiltshire League Division Six on a Saturday and Swindon Evening League Division Two on Thursday nights as well as fulfilling regular Sunday friendly slots and embarking on annual tours to the Isle of Wight

CLUB RECORDS

Most runs: Pete Martin (14,928)

Highest score: Chris Ladd (180 vs Collingbourne 2nds, 2013)
Most centuries: Des Clarke (13)
Most sixes: Sam Morshead (92)
Most fours: Pete Martin (1368)
Most wickets: Ian Sharpe (1389)
Most catches: Ian Sharpe (228)

WHO'S WHO?

Des Clarke: A longstanding member of the club, former chairman and record century maker, Clarke has always taken a hands-on approach to keeping White Horse going down the years. A hugely respected figure in the dressing room.

Robert Horton: Without Horton’s generous offer, White Horse would not have found a home after being moved on from their land down the road at Winterbourne Bassett. The club president is often found at the pavilion bar.

DID YOU KNOW

White Horse Cricket Club’s home ground in Broad Hinton was used as the local cricket pitch in the early 20th century prior to becoming farm land. It returned to its original use in 2007 when the club relocated from Winterbourne Bassett.

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