SHOBDON Cricket Club have withdrawn from the GB Liners Marches League on the eve of the new season.

Secretary Adam Price says the loss of regular players and the unavailability of others has forced the club to take action.

Price is now urging people in Shobdon to help keep the club alive.

“Although we have made the decision to withdraw our Saturday team from the Marches League, the club has not folded,” said Price, who is also the groundsman.

“We will continue to run a team in the midweek, Woodstock Cricket South Shropshire Twenty20 League and we will be looking to organise a number of evening friendly games to ensure our beautiful ground continues to be used.

“Our hope now is that by taking one step back in making this decision, the club will be able to make strides forward in the future.

“But this will only happen if residents in the village come forward and get involved with the club.

“In recent years – aside from a number of kind sponsors - very few people from the village have actually assisted either on or off the field.”

Price added: “Without more involvement from the village there is a real danger the gorgeous ground that the Corbett family generously allow us to use, may not see cricketing action in the future.”

Shobdon took the decision to quit the Marches League at an emergency general meeting last week.

“This has been a tough call and one that has not been easy to make,” said Price.

“We now have such a small pool of players to select from that playing with reduced numbers regularly was going to be inevitable.

“We have had a relatively successfully few years but even in the past three seasons we have had to field a team containing nine or 10 men on far too many occasions.”

Price thanked M and M Direct for their sponsorship of the club.

Teams wanting to play midweek friendlies against Shobdon Cricket Club, or to use the ground, call Adam Price on 07729 350 298.