Five minutes with… Joe from Toft Cricket Club..
Supporting small businesses and local communities is really important to us here at JP & Brimelow. We are so happy to sponsor Toft Cricket Club to bring lasting benefits to our local area and help the club spring back from the pandemic.
We chatted to Joe Stanley from Toft Cricket Club to find out what the sponsorship means to him and why he loves the club so much.
How does it feel to be sponsored by JP & Brimelow?
It is a privilege and very exciting for me and Toft Cricket Club. Eddie Ellis and I have known each other for a few years now as we play at the same golf club. For him to commit to being my player sponsor for the next couple of seasons is fantastic and I will be forever grateful to him and the business. The cricket club will be reserving a sponsors area for the sponsor of a player who gives the best performance from the weekend before. Hopefully, JP & Brimelow will have many opportunities to come and enjoy the scenic landscape with a few drinks this summer!
What do you think about the new bats?
They look fantastic! I sent them off to be refurbished during the winter at the bat manufacturer. They’ve come back in Toft colours, and they now have the JP & Brimelow logo on the back. Hopefully, they will get featured in a photo for the local newspaper after I’ve got a few runs on the weekend…no pressure!
Do you have any predictions for the new season?
This season will be very interesting because of the situation the country has been in for the last year or so. Usually, we would have winter nets to sharpen our skills before coming into a season, but we’ll be thrown straight into the deep end straight away. We’ve got a great young squad of players who have been knitting together and maturing over the last few years. That was shown with the T20 cup run in 2019 that ended with Toft playing in the national final. Hopefully, we can find some of that form and take it into the start of this season. We’re always striving to compete in what is a very strong Cheshire Premier League. Many clubs we play against pay a lot of their players, which we don’t, so finishing high up in the table is a great accomplishment.
What are your greatest moments at Toft Cricket Club?
I’ve played cricket at Toft since I was seven years old, so I have many great memories of the club. I will never forget scoring my first 100 when I was 16 years old, playing in the 3rd XI. My grandparents were up from Brighton at the time, and my parents brought them to the start of the game to see me open the batting. They left the ground when I was on about 20 (thinking I wasn’t going to get many more runs) only to come back to see that I finished on 129!
What do you like to do in Cheshire in your spare time?
I love playing golf when I am not playing cricket. I play at Knutsford Golf Club with a handicap of 0.8. Most Saturdays, I will play first thing in the competitions and then go across the other side of Knutsford to play cricket at Toft. I also enjoy going for long walks and watching Manchester United (most of the time). Hopefully, it won’t be too long until we can attend sporting events again!
Thanks, Joe!
If you’d like to find out more about Toft Cricket Club, follow them on Instagram @toftcricketclub or visit www.toftcc.com.
