Shrewsbury Cricket Club’s return to Birmingham Premier Division One this season is being supported by an award-winning town business.

Salop Leisure has agreed to sponsor Shrewsbury’s coloured kit and will have an advertising board on the club’s London Road ground, which is just half-a-mile from the company’s Emstrey headquarters. 

One of the UK’s leading caravan and motorhome dealerships, Salop Leisure has a long track record of supporting Shrewsbury Cricket Club, having previously sponsored a popular annual Twenty-20 Tournament for Shropshire clubs. 

After being relegated from Division One in 2023, the club bounced back immediately last summer. Club chairman Rob Foster said the first team is looking forward to a good season in the top flight, boosted by Zimbabwean fast bowler Dustin Melton, ex-Derbyshire and Harry Darley from Worcestershire Academy. 

The first team’s season starts on April 19 with a Greame Williamson Trophy away match and league begins on May 3.

The club will field four men’s teams – three on Saturday and one on Sunday – and two women’s teams this season, in addition to three junior boys teams and a new girls’ hardball team.

“We are looking forward to what we hope will be a successful season for all our teams,” said Foster. “I am particularly looking forward to seeing Dustin Melton bowl, as he’s coming to take the new ball.” 

Thanking Salop Leisure and the company’s chairman for their continued support, he added: “They are great supporters of the club and a huge help to us, as amateur cricket is getting ever more expensive.

“It’s a great connection to have as Salop Leisure’s headquarters is just half-a-mile down the road from the club and they have such a positive influence on sport in the town and across Shropshire.” 

Salop Leisure’s marketing manager, Ed Glover, said the company is proud of its longstanding association with Shrewsbury Cricket Club, one of the most successful sports clubs in Shropshire. 

“We are delighted that the club’s first team will be back playing in the Birmingham Premier Division One this season and wish them well,” he added. “The club continues to provide opportunities for talented young cricketers, many of whom have progressed to play first class county cricket.”