Episode 36 - CEO of Newbery Cricket, David White

Welcome back to the Sunday Service with Church and Vickers – we hope you've all had a peaceful cricketing week.

This week, Mark and Hector are joined by the CEO and mastermind behind our fantastic sponsors, Newbery Cricket.

Having left school at 16, David White began work as a groundskeeper before moving into a variety of coaching roles, including serving as a County Age Group coach at Surrey.

He then moved into operations, joining Newbery initially as Chief Operating Officer after leaving West Ham, where he was Head of Operations.

Now the CEO of Newbery Cricket, and the driving force behind one of England's finest cricket brands, David joins the show to chat all about the company and discuss his fascinating career to date.

Also on the episode, Church and Vickers continue their hard-hitting segment, "What Cricket Sound Is This?", while Church delivers a sermon reflecting on another busy week in the Parish.

A huge thank you to David White for joining us this week to talk us through his extraordinary career and his work at Newbery Cricket. We're looking forward to catching up again over the summer.

Another big thank you goes to our friends at Newbery Cricket, who offered up their award-winning SPS bat as this month's competition giveaway, and congratulations to this month's winner. 

You can read all about it via the following link: https://www.wisden.com/cricket-features/the-bat-test-2026

You can also check out the premium equipment that Newbery Cricket has to offer here.

If you've enjoyed this episode of Sunday Service, please make sure to rate and review us, and share the podcast across your social media platforms.

We'd also love to hear from you! Send us your cricketing thoughts and guest suggestions:

Email: sundayservice.pod@yahoo.com

X: @sundayservice22

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us again on the Sunday service with Church and Vickers. So we're into the third and final test match against the Black Cats, and it has been a very busy week in the cricketing world. The old man has been flying up and down the country, but he's with me today. Good to see you, Churchley.

SPEAKER_05 0:18

Good morning to you, young Hector, and it was arguably even better in the Oval Test match to see a certain Matthew Fisher, who of course provides us with a hard-hitting ident on the Sunday service, making his return to the England test side. As I always say, he is a Fisher of Wickets.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Sunday service with Church and Fickers. Oh, yes, we are back, and it has been yet another busy cricketing week in the parish. England are currently in action against New Zealand in the third test at Trent Bridge. We'll just breeze past last week's oval mishap, and England's women continue to churn out victories at the T20 World Cup. Will we see them lifting the trophy at Lords in this form? I don't see why not. And the Vitality T20 Blast is back in action, which means the church is as busy as ever. How are you this week, Churchy?

SPEAKER_05 1:26

Well, I'm very well. Where am I very well, Hector? I would say I'm fair to middling. It's been uh a very busy week. On Monday, I saw Glamorganshire beating Surreyshire for the first time in Cardiff since 1960. Where a pint of milk cost you, I don't know, three pee. So that was quite something for Glamorgan. I then picked up my daughter, drove back in the night, and Tuesday spent four hours with her in a hairdresser getting her hair done for her prop. We then got in the car on Wednesday and spent the grand total of ten hours on the M25 in the heat, which wasn't the best way to spend the day, but that did enable me to listen to the England women beating the West Indies women to secure their place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. Thursday I spent on the motorway again, driving back down south because Friday night I was at home for the restart of the Vitality T twenty blast, and Surreyshire visited Sussexhire with a certain Josh Philippi in the side. Saturday, Hector, was a day of rest. Anyway, my friend, what is on the show?

SPEAKER_03 2:57

Well, Church has his cricketing sermon in which he recounts a busy week in the cricketing parish.

SPEAKER_05 3:02

We have the latest edition of our hard-hitting feature. What cricket sound is this?

SPEAKER_03 3:08

And our guest today is the CEO and mastermind behind our fantastic sponsors at Newbury Cricket.

SPEAKER_05 3:15

And thanks to our friends at Newbury Cricket, we have our competition where you can win one of their magnificent SPS cricket bats, as I always say. It is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful piece of willow. In fact, everybody, this is the week where we announce our lucky winner of this beautiful piece of willow. I will be going round to wherever they live, and I will be breaking in, and I will be taking the SPS for myself. So keep listening if you want to find out if you are the winner of the beautiful SPS cricket bat. And don't forget, you can get in touch with us. Just email sundayservice.pod at yahoo.com or tweet at Sundayservice22.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Lots to get through, so let's get cracking with the Sunday service.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

This is Cameron Steele, and you are listening to the Sunday service with church and vicars.

SPEAKER_05 4:32

It has been a busy week once again in the parish. On Monday, I witnessed Glamorganshire beat Surreyshire for the first time in Cardiff since 1960, when a pint of milk was 3p, a loaf of bread was 4p, and I was merely a glint in my father's eye. I travelled back from Cardiff and arrived at Boycott Vicarage, which was like a furnace, so windows were opened and the holy fan was switched on. Tuesday was parish visit, and Mrs. Bartholomew reminded me that the parish had dealt with extreme heat during the great drought of 1976, when the parish pond dried up and Mr. Jenkins' prized tomatoes withered on the vine in his allotment. Mrs. Bartholomew said we needed some of the spirit of 1976 and proceeded to her drinks cabinet and opened up her 50-year-old prize mort whiskey. And I must say, it did the trick. The evening was spent in the Badger's Googly, where Ted the Landlord had put a paddling pool in the beer garden for parishioners to dive in and call off. I must say it was proving to be very popular, especially with the ladies of the Women's Institute. And I decided it was time to head back to Boycott Vicarage, where Mrs. Watts and Mrs. Jackson started performing aqua aerobics after another evening of tonics and gin. Wednesday I took to the motorways of England. In fact, I spent 12 hours on the motorways of England, and it was not the most pleasant experience, especially when I did not move for five hours. Cars were left and conversation started, and I met a particularly nice truck driver from Portsmouth who was delivering fish to Swindon and was concerned his refrigeration unit may break down, causing the fish, in his words, to smell to high heaven. I reminded him that heaven smelt exactly how he wanted it to smell, and he mentioned something about Beyonce's perfume, but he was a lovely chap. I eventually made it back to Boycott Vicarage, hoping his fish had reached Wyndon, still smelling the fish. Thursday was a day of watching New Zealand score runs against England and doing my cricketing stats. In the evening, the parish 11 met in the Badgers Googly to discuss tactics for Saturday's game against the butchers of Bright Bunsted. Now, we have had a slight problem this week, which I have dealt with. A couple of our players were found in the early hours of Tuesday morning outside Mr. Bracken's second-hand bookshop, a little worse for wear, singing various hits from Neil Diamond's 1980s tearjerker, the jazz singer. Their rendition of Hello my friend, hello, was particularly good, but unfortunately they woke up most of the parish. I was asked to deal with them, and after I made my inquiries, I decided a stern warning about their behaviour was appropriate and reminded them of their responsibilities. If honest, I wasn't quite sure what those responsibilities are, but I felt swift action was required. They were both apologetic, and I accepted their apologies and told them that they did move me close to tears when they harmonised the line, Just pour me a dream, and I'll tell you some lies from Love on the Rocks, one of the great scenes from the jazz singer. Anyway, they were back with us for the team meeting, and it was decided we were back like New Zealand, and Sexy Rex and young Ted said they would be just like Devin Conway and Tom Latham on Saturday. Friday, I travelled to Hove for the resumption of the Vitality T20 Blast as Surryshire took on the Sharks of Sussex. Whether any sharks had been seen off the coast of Brighton is a mute point, but it was a hot, hot evening. Back in the parish, a decision had been made to cancel the WI Book Club due to the extreme heat, because the last thing we needed was Mrs. Watts and Mrs. Jackson going up in flames whilst giving their thoughts on the Bowling Inheritance by Philippa Jackson. Saturday dawned hot and steamy, and attention turned to our game against the Butchers of Bright Bunsted. The butchers arrived with the meat for our meat raffle in the Badgers Googly, and Ted very sensibly had made room in his fridge for storage. The butchers are always a fine side, and this year was no different. We won the Tottenham Bold and it was just like the Test match on Thursday, but unfortunately the wrong way round, because they batted just like New Zealand, as their openers put on 275 for the first wicket. I was proud of our efforts in the field, although it was a little chastening when Sexy Rex raised one of his wicket-keeping gloves as he leapt through his 50th bye. Anyway, the butchers posted the challenging total of 335 in their 40 overs, with our one wicket coming courtesy of Big Barry the Butcher having to be stretchered off after passing out in the heat on 155, and Rex having the clear thinking to run him out as he fell headfirst out of his creek. During the tea break, storm clouds gathered, and somebody mentioned something about Spanish plumes. And suddenly the heavens literally opened and it rained on a biblical scale for two hours. Refilling the parish pond though. Sadly, that was it for the game, but a wonderful evening was spent in the Badgers Googly, with the meat raffle being won by Mrs. Bartholomew and Big Barry the Butcher fully recovering and enjoying our local brew. So this morning I am back with you, and I am looking forward to young Mr. Vickers' musical reworking of the movie motion picture Heat, which is somewhat appropriate and will be sung by the choir in a few moments' time. Just a quick parish notice: a decision will be made on whether the WI Summer Parade of Ladies from History will go ahead next weekend when we have seen what the weather is going to be like. We certainly do not want to see Mrs. Peters passing out dressed as Marilyn Monroe and ending up in the parish pond once again. So, until next week, may all your windows deposit cool air and remember, bat well everyone. Bat very, very well. Can I just say I Dector, I'm going to interrupt you there. Can I just say I'm glad you've used the phrase groundbreaking? Because I can assure everybody else that there is nobody in the world doing this feature apart from us. And I am proud of that. I am proud of the fact that it is only us that is recording random cricket sounds at random cricket grounds every week.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

So much. I I really enjoy it. And in a moment, you will hear a sound and keep your ears peeled because you're gonna have to tell us what sound it is. Now last week you heard this particular noise, and the question was what cricket sound is this? That was of course an assiduous Will Rhodes preparing in the Nets on the morning of the second day between Durham and Northamptonshire as the Chester Street crowd filtered in, eight hundred and seventy-one people strong.

SPEAKER_05 12:16

Oh, was it Will Rhodes? I said it was Graham Clark. Really? Oh, it sounded like Clark to me. Good player, very tall. Good player. Good player. By the way, can you keep your ears peeled?

SPEAKER_03 12:31

I was a bit of a I think it was a bit of a joke, actually.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:36

Lovely. Well, very good. Hey everyone. Excellent. So now we're gonna roll this week's sound, and the question is what cricket sound is this? If you think you know, email sundayservice.pod at yahoo.com or tweet at Sundayservice22.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Hi, Matt Fisher, Surrey and England. Um, you're listening to the Sunday service with church and vicars.

SPEAKER_03 13:10

Now it's time for our cricketing guest. David White is the Chief Executive Officer at Newbury Cricket. Having left school at 16, David began working as a groundskeeper before moving into a variety of coaching roles, including a county age group coach at Surrey Cricket. He has since gone on into working in operations, joining Newbury initially as the CEO from West Ham, where he was head of operations. Now the CEO at Newbury Cricket and of course a fantastic sponsor of this very podcast. David is at the helm of one of the finest cricket brands in England. He joined us earlier this week to discuss the company and his career. And I started by asking him how he was and how his summer has been going.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

But yeah, no, it's been really positive. Um just starting now, I think, to just sort of settle into the season and getting into sort of you know actually getting out and watching some cricket. Uh played my first game last week, would have played my second one this week if it hadn't been for the uh the sun calling it off, which uh which was a new one for me. So um, but yeah, no enjoying it. Like I said, we've got a fantastic World Cup on at the moment, a proper World Cup, and um obviously the intriguing New Zealand Test Series as well.

SPEAKER_05 14:28

So now we'll we'll get on to Newbury uh in a moment, sir, if that's okay. But let's let's go back because we want to find out about you and how you ended up where you are now. So you left school at 16 and became a groundskeeper. Just talk us through that decision because quite a big decision to sort of leave school and go into employment.

SPEAKER_04 14:56

Um, yeah, I don't I don't think it was ever really a decision. I think it was just a a general drifting away from education. Um I I went to state school in South London, and I think you know, me and my peer groups, you know, we were bright enough, but probably not clever enough to kind of understand the privilege we had of education and you know, probably took it for granted a little bit. Um, and I think, yeah, I by the time I got to sort of six form it, it really wasn't for me at that stage of my life. So um, yeah, I went to college and and I was kind of really just sort of, you know, I'd get particularly in the summer, you'd get off this play for sort of wandering sides for cricket, um, you know, go and do days labouring or something like that, really. And like I say, it was it was a it was a gradual drifting away from education and um it was it was the cricket club, really. So I was a member at Beddington Cricket Club from a young age. Um and I yeah, I was extremely lucky really. I had a really good support network there. You know, what I think my Sunday captain lined me up with with some paid work with with the local grounds firm that looked after the pitches there at the time. Um the club were instrumental in giving me, you know, my my my coaching qualifications, which enabled me to go on to work with Surrey cricket and you know, um work at sort of a couple of local councils as well in a in a coaching capacity. Um and it was a parent of a fellow cult that that sort of lined me up with with Surrey as well and got me into doing coaching. So yeah, I I the first full-time job I did was was with um with a groundskeeping firm. And I think yeah, that that really sort of taught me, you know, the value of of sort of you know a good work ethic, you know, um working, I think my my hours was something like 7:30 in the morning until it got dark. So, you know, some summer nights you were out to all hours or whatever. And um yeah, I yeah, I think that was kind of the way it kind of worked, really. And that's sort of yeah, those three kind of things sort of set me on my set me on my way really in my career.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

Yeah, and you've had a fascinating career since then. You've done a lot of work in operations as well. So obviously you're the CEO now at Newbury Cricket, but before that you were head of operations at West Ham. What was it that sort of attracted you to operational work?

SPEAKER_04 16:59

Um I think if you work in if you work in sport, I think operations kind of comes, particularly grassroots sport. You're not you're not blessed with huge operation teams to support you. So um, you know, at a very basic level, you know, if you're if you're organising fixtures, your transport, grounds, officials, you know, that that's operations, isn't it? So I think that kind of goes hand in hand. Um, I like to think I'm a quite a meticulous, methodical, you know, sort of process-driven person as well. And I think that that really, really lends itself to operations, really. So um, yeah, and I think that kind of as you the higher you rise in your career, and and obviously the the more senior your roles get, the you know, the remit gets broader, the you know, the budgets get bigger, the responsibility kind of gets um gets, you know, so so like I say, from where I was sort of coaching and you're organising tournaments, things like that, particularly in my so I worked in local government for 15 years, and and you know, through that progression there, that that went from sort of you know community coaching and sort of doing the outreach work through to you know, by the end, sort of managing you know big leisure portfolios, leisure centres and things. And like I say, it it was it was more of a a transition really rather than anything, you know, sort of like a decision or anything that sort of drew me in.

SPEAKER_05 18:09

So but was cricket always something that you wanted to work in? Was that there was there always something in the back of your mind, you know, you've coached cricket, you've played cricket. Was there always something in the back of your mind thinking if an opportunity comes up in cricket, that's where I'd like to end up?

SPEAKER_04 18:28

Um I I make no secret. I think growing up, I you know, the dream was to play cricket and be a professional cricketer, and I think that's probably where I probably you know again didn't value education because uh in my head I was you know gonna be a pro-cricket, I wasn't playing test cricket for England, you know, like a lot of lot of young people growing up to, but slightly flawed plan because I wasn't very good. So um, you know, it kind of uh I don't believe that. Um but yeah, I I think yeah, I think the next best thing was working in cricket. And again, you know, I I I spent you know, best part of 10 years sort of part-time with Surrey cricket. Um, you know, the opportunity for sort of a full-time role never really materialised, and eventually my my career in local government sort of overtook that a little bit, and um, you know, I sort of made that decision to go into that, and that gave me that really sort of broad portfolio of sport. I think I've worked across, you know, sort of 25 different sports in my time there. Um, you know, obviously I've mentioned we sort of manage leisure portfolios and things like that as well. So um yeah, it was only I'd say only kind of, yeah, the like I say, I I wanted to get back into cricket, but yeah, I'm surprised really that I've kind of ended up here because I think the way everything was going was it could have got, you know, it could have been football, it could have been um any other sort of NGB or something like that, really. I I don't know if I had that um that that real idea of where I was going, but yeah, this has sort of come out of the blue a little bit and it it feels it does feel sort of um almost kind of fitting, really, that I've yeah, I have kind of shooted back to cricket.

SPEAKER_03 19:56

Yeah, and and now you're at Newbury Cricket, of course. Generally one of the finest brands out there. I I remember playing with Newbury bats all the way through school, and I know Churchy loved them as well. You joined as COO in 2024 and became CEO last July, and now Newbury are in an incredibly strong position. I was just wondering what you think the main selling points are of the company.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

Um well, I'm I'm probably like like sales really, and as I say, I always like I enjoy Churchy's um kind of sand bites around the lovely piece of willow and he's doing the uh sort of advertising of bats and things like that. But um yeah, I I it's um I I would say you know, like I said, I grew up grew up um you know admiring the brand. It was something that you know bats that you know always the ones that you you know, kind of kids that had them there were kind of really sought after. So you know I really like that sort of the aspirational nature of the brand. Um you know, it's it's a heritage, it's it's a premium brand, I think. It's um and and it's a you know, it's a it's a bedrock of, I suppose, of you know, British, the you know, the best of British almost in terms of brands and stuff. And I think people really resonate with that, particularly in this age and era now where you know you can go on sort of wholesale websites, full of things next day delivery, you know, you don't know where in the world it's kind of come from. Um, you know, AI are now as well. I think people value that that sort of nostalgia, they value that um that comfort in recognized brands and recognized things, and I think that's where we've got a real strength in the market there. And um, I think you know, let's go forward, uh yeah, it's something I really, really want to build on really is the history and heritage of the brand.

SPEAKER_05 21:29

Well, I I was gonna say to you, so for me, so obviously my iconic Newbery is Mike Gatting, right? So, so gatting uh 85 Ashes series using Newbery. Then I can remember getting so excited one morning when Mark Stober walked out for a new season using Newbury and just going nuts on commentary. But the interesting thing is it you saying there about heritage, um And sort of taking people back, I think that is huge. And and and and and I use the word retro these days, but but that is a massive thing. And there's there is a whole generation out there that loves Newbury because they were brought up with players using Newbury. And is that is that something you you're you're looking to tap into as well?

SPEAKER_04 22:24

Absolutely. I think I think it's twofold, really. So um, you know, I always think about kind of my age group. So I'll be able to be 40 next year. And I I think you know that my era grew up with probably the best of the brand, really, and it's it's kind of making sure that we can kind of really tap into that. And I suppose understanding that, you know, I'm playing less and less cricket these days. So in terms of buying products and things, I'm I'm probably not my market anymore. So my children will be. So what I want to do is want to make sure that we're designing products, we're we're creating products that appeal to that market, but kind of look after the history and heritage. So a really good example of that is obviously we did the um, you know, we've we've reverted the bats to, or sorry, we've moved the bats to um sort of block stickers this year to make them more you know appealing. So the core ranges are um you know a little bit more kind of appealing to sort of that core market, but we've also kind of re-released the Majolna. Um, and that that has been that that nod to history and heritage. We've created that classic range exactly for that purpose, those people that want to really tap into that nostalgia and kind of you know realize that we, you know, we're not we're not going anywhere and we're not gonna, you know, we're gonna really sort of look after this brand and um you know treat it with with respect it deserves really, you know. But a big, big sort of thing that I've kind of found myself getting interested in is you know trying to dig into some of the history. We've recently set up a Wikipedia page for John Newbury, um, sort of encouraging people to get in touch with their stories, getting, you know, posting you know information that we don't even know about the you know the brand ourselves kind of thing. So um, yeah, I think that's kind of where we're at, is that it's that delicate balance in that, really, of looking after it, but but also constantly evolving and modernising ourselves.

SPEAKER_05 24:00

And also sort of just on the sponsorship side of things, so obviously there's the the whole player sponsorship that the you know if you can get uh players using Ubry, that's fantastic. But also, you know, I know you're sponsoring Cricket Sweden uh in 2026. Um, so what how does that work? What sort of what aiming for the right people to use your brand as well? Because that that is a great way of seeing people seeing Ubery, isn't it?

SPEAKER_04 24:29

Absolutely, yeah. Um I I don't I don't think we we target our partnerships any uh every partnership we do, no, there's no sort of one size fits all really. You know, this um we're really proud of this Sweden partnership. It's uh you know, the associate nations uh you know cricket's growing rapidly um across across the associate nation. So um, yeah, being able to work with cricket sweden who are you know sort of climbing the ICC rankings. Um it's yeah, so I suppose on on one hand, it's you know it's it's being being a visible presence with them. So I was over in Cyprus a few weeks ago for the World Cup qualifiers and sub-regional ones, um, which was yeah, not not the worst work trip I've ever been on, but um it's you know a bit of a tough sale to the wife, that one. But um yeah, I think it's um yes, it's it's it's getting over them to kind of meeting with them, you know, sort of understanding their challenges really. But on the basic sort of surface of it, you know, we've supplied them with um cricket balls for their for entire domestic structure, um, done the teamware for um for the for the national team. And now, you know, it's it's about sort of understanding what other challenges they've got. You know, that the you know, cricket shops are not going to be abundant across Sweden and Scandinavia. So, how can we get good quality products into the country, you know, support cricketers and support the growth and development of the game there as well? So it's it's about sort of you know finding creative solutions to problems that that probably don't exist in the UK and you know, Australia and sort of you know the really established cricket nations.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

And you also partnered with uh Barclays Night Stokes Cup, and we had Angus, their CEO, come on a few, a few episodes ago. Can you just take us through some of the other sponsorships and partnerships that you you're working with? And is it all sort of a similar setup to the what you're providing at Sweden?

SPEAKER_04 26:15

Um no, not at all. So um, like I say, uh there's there is no one size fits all, really. And I like I said, I think it's yeah, I think generally speaking, uh, you know, our first question to anyone we work with is around, you know, what are your challenges, what what's the you know, what are the point of pain that that you're you're kind of experiencing really, and how can we kind of support it. So it's not it's not like a kind of a a supply, just a you know, one one-way transactional supply arrangement, really. It's a you know, we we deal with everyone in partnership. Um that's I'm really I'm really proud, I think, of the the the the you know, the growth and the the the way the brand has moved in the last year, particularly around the inclusion um within cricket and sort of making the game more accessible. You know, it's it's um uh you know we've we've you know, for example, you know, we supplied sort of sponsorships to the England mixed disability team with you know sort of four four of the lads over there in India this winter that we've we supported. We've got um you know a lot more female players we support you know with full sponsorships than we do with male at the moment. We've made some great advancements in some of our product ranges, our clothing ranges to make sure that we do cater to female markets. And state school cricket has kind of become a um you know a real sort of you know an area of of growth and um sort of you know, I suppose expertise for us as well. So yeah, we're really proud to be the the approved supply to the night at Stokes Cup. That's then kind of you know sort of led into some other state school projects, you know, sort of we've we've sort of supported, um, like sort of you know the Surrey programme. Um and yeah, we're we're really excited in the next next month as well to be supporting Sussex with their new state school projects as well, breaking boundaries. So I say the the inclusion piece for me, and then like I say, making making cricket more accessible, particularly being at that sort of luxury heritage brand as well, is that um you know that I say if we could we can sort of do that and sort of make make it accessible to people, then yeah, that yeah, it's that they're the ones I'm particularly sort of interested and proud in, I think.

SPEAKER_05 28:11

Just just talk us through that process because I find it very interesting. So um for example with the Night Stoke Cup, just go back to the start of that and how you how you sort of made those connections, which sort of made it clear that you wanted to get involved with Newbury and and sort of become part of it.

SPEAKER_04 28:35

Yeah, well, it was it was you know, I I saw the saw the press releases on it basically, and I I got in touch with them and sort of said, you know, how can Newbury help um and how can we support it? Now obviously they've they've you know the the MCC Foundation there, they've got their own sort of you know um uh partnerships there they work in and things. So there's there's certain elements of that that we we have to sort of you know work within and work around. So um yeah, that that one was was was quite quite straightforward, really. It was, you know, I got in touch with them, asked them how we could support, and you know, we we tailored an offer. But you know, again, using my my sort of sports development background and my my knowledge of that is making sure that you know you're working with teachers in state schools that cricket might not necessarily be their first sport. So, you know, how do you almost sort of spoon feed an offer to them and and sort of show them you know the products that they'll probably need, you know, make sure that it's it's appropriate price-wise and um you know, sort of um yeah, appropriate to that market, essentially. But um, yeah, the partnerships generally, there's there's no kind of one size fits all again. It's um it's very much, you know, for example, Sweden was a was a was a phone call and it sort of started a you know started a sort of a conversation which started around cricket balls and grew into teamware and now sort of bespoke equipment. Um but yeah, we've been involved with you know some quite lengthy tendering processes. There's there's been some partnerships which have not quite come to fruition yet, but we've been discussing them since I started two years ago. And like say we're hopeful we'll get those, get those over the line. But um, yeah, it really, really does vary.

SPEAKER_05 30:02

And and off the back of that, all it all the experience that you've got now, if if we're talking about partnerships and sponsorships, is I always think with the chief exec, it's it's obviously with your company and knowing what's going on, but it's also being able to spot those opportunities and and have that experience to know when there's a good opportunity and have that background. So, do you think that all your experience and everything else you've done now is helping with with what you're doing at Newbury to get the brand out there?

SPEAKER_04 30:35

Yeah, definitely, definitely. Um I I think I think it draws back to those really early days of of connections that you make with your with your cricket club and with with your you know education and things like that. You know, those those tend to be the people that you know start the you know the the first the first link in the chain, I suppose. And I say if those people are willing to vouch for you as a person, as a professional, um it kind of opens up the next door for you. And that's that's really how kind of my time at Newbury has kind of developed, really. You know, it's it's been very much a going back through the contact list of of people that I've met along the way, of you know, sort of playing 20, 25 years of cricket, um, you know, letting know where I am and sort of, you know, if there's anything we can support with, really. And yeah, if it might not be that that person directly, they then sort of put you in touch with someone that does need support. And it that that's kind of really how it's grown. And I said, I think that that's been a real sort of part of you know the success here a little bit. Um, yeah, and I yeah, I I think I think network, network is so so important. Um, and and I say that that diversity of experience for me, you know, there's always a bit of a joke that if if someone mentions a job or something, I've I've done it, you know, as sort of um in the past, so um, which is probably true to be honest. Um, but yeah, like I say it it does, it kind of like I say, it really broadens your your contact list and you kind of you also understand how things work and what and how what things cost and you know where where the where the opportunities might lie within that.

SPEAKER_05 32:03

And as I've tried to tell Hector a number of times, cricket seems a massive world, but it is a very, very small world, isn't it? Because you always find somebody you've spoken to knows somebody who knew you, who knows somebody who can put you in touch with someone else.

SPEAKER_04 32:17

Absolutely, no, it's tiny. You know, the the the industry, everyone knows everyone. Um, yeah, there's no secrets in cricket. It's uh yeah, it's um very much uh yeah, and that's what I say. I think I think that's if if if you're you've got good values, you're you know, you're you're reliable, I think that that really counts in your favour. And I think that like I say, people really buy into that, and that's actually we we as a brand of I've really tried to promote really is about that transparency of the people behind the brand. We're a small team, so it's it's um, you know, it's it's it's putting faces to those names, making sure we're visible. Um and like I say, yeah, things don't always go right, and if they don't go right, we own it and we're we we front up on it, and you know, we we make sure we make good on it as well. So that's that's been you know a big big part of you know what we've we've tried to achieve here.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

Can we just run through the bats and the whole sort of bat making process as well? Obviously, Churchy's thoughts are well known about the SBS bat, and I really enjoyed the majorna. And you know, we've been so lucky to have a number of giveaways. But what are the main principles that you sort of focus on when you're making the bats? Are you involved in sort of crafting the strategy for that? And how how do you get them from how do you source the wood and and sort of get it from the sort of ready for production?

SPEAKER_04 33:32

Um, so I'd say the the the um that is one job that I've not had, and that's one job that I shouldn't be anywhere near in terms of making bats. If you spoke to my wife, you know, putting up a set of shelves would uh would would challenge me. So um yeah, I think talking through how they're made and things like that is probably a podcast for another day, really. But um yeah, I think I think the last the last couple of years we've you know the the big thing we've tried to sort of dial back into is that the bats are our brand. We we you know we've got a you know we sort of promote ourselves as this 360 brand now. We do teamware, we do cricket balls, um, but bats is our identity, and you know, we've really sort of thought long and hard about how we make those as good as possible. And I think you know, some of the changes that we've made there is that you know, the way we grade the grade the bats, so there's there's there's a much you know sort of smaller margin now between our our top grade bats through to our sort of grade four bats. Um, you know, we've we've tried to strip back some of the jargon around sort of how bats are graded. So we've gone back to a simple grade one to four sort of um system for our bats as well. So customers can see the price point, we can be very, very open around what we're what we're selling about and what what those those grades look like. And I've touched upon a little bit around you know sort of the design element of those bats as well and sort of how we make them you know more appealing to to our traditional market, also, you know, the the the emerging uh or suppose the the the young the younger audience as well, really, and sort of you know kind of dialing into that that core market that you know is going to continually sort of evolve and develop brand really.

SPEAKER_05 35:03

And give us an idea of some other products as well. You mentioned the balls there, but but other products at Newbury.

SPEAKER_04 35:09

Uh yeah, so so creatable is a creatable is probably our um a big focus for us at the moment. Um yeah, we did uh sort of around 24,000 globally last year. We're we're on track for you know pushing to 40,000 this year. Um, yeah, they've they've been very, very successful sort of across Europe and America. Um it's some of the ICC nations, yeah, obviously Sweden being one of those. Um this year, our big focus this summer is going to be teamware. So sort of starting to line up clubs and partnerships on there. And um, like I said, I touched upon in the sort of previous question there a little bit about the you know the progress we're making in sort of female ranges and stuff like that. So um making sure that we we're peel to all markets. But um next year we've got two new ranges coming online. Um so one's one's very much in development at the moment, the other one's gonna build on the Academy Bat that we brought out last year. And again, that's that's got a focus. I wouldn't say we we're pigeonholing that as a female only brand, but it's it's more of that, I would say that that smaller cricketer, so the youth cricketer that's stepping up into adult cricket, but it's gonna appeal to a to a female market in terms of being lighter. Um we did we we sort of test launch or soft launch the Academy bat last year, that that went really um really well. And then this year we're gonna be adding gloves, pads, and uh and a bag to that range as well. So that's something we're we are particularly excited about. And let's say that's kind of just yeah, building on that 360 approach we want to do. We want to be a partnership brand, we want to work with clubs, national governing bodies, and and sort of you know develop the full product offering, really. So we are kind of like the one-stop shop essentially.

SPEAKER_03 36:43

Amazing. And every week, as you know, we we always get our guests to offer some advice at the end of the show. And as a CEO of a large cricket company and also someone that left school uh prematurely, what what main piece of advice would you give to anyone wanting to go into work in in operations or just spreading their net in the cricket world?

SPEAKER_04 37:04

Um I've definitely got to tell people to drop out of school. That's that's not the first thing. Uh yeah, I definitely couldn't advise that. Um but I I I think education, I think, yeah, if you're not sure of what you want to do, I think that it's never too late. I I went back and did a master's in 2021. Um, so like I say, I didn't, you know, I kind of you use my my years of industry experience to sort of do that. Um I think we've spoken about the value of your network and the small world of cricket. And I think, you know, if if if you just start with your cricket club and work outwards, there there are so many opportunities. You know, it's paid to pay coaching, it's working on the grounds, it's it's building up, you know, it's a place where you're going to bring people from all walks of life, they're going to have businesses in different industries and things. So there's there's such an opportunity there to grow that. Um, and I think the the third part of this, and it's probably a slightly cheesy one, but um the way I sort of best summarised the other week, I think if if you Google Barack Obama and um I think just just get stuff done, there's there's a kind of a reel that sort of pops up on my Instagram for you. I always watch it. Um it's a you know, it's about 10 seconds long. But he just talks about the value of you know getting you know, just getting stuff done essentially, you know, being that go-to person, that if there's a problem, you know, you could be as educated, you can be as articulate as you like, you can explain a problem, and you can but if you're the person that people go to and and get it done, kind of that it gets noticed. And that that for me has been the you know, been the absolute, you know, sort of most successful thing for me in terms of you know how I've I've managed to progress really is that you know just just being reliable and being that person that that that can just fix a problem or come with with solutions rather than more problems.

SPEAKER_05 38:47

Well, look, you're doing a brilliant job. We can't thank you enough as well on the podcast for all your support for for the podcast as well. And um all I would say is that as an old man, and when I sit there and I go, the SPS is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful piece of willow, it is gorgeous. And as I say, that it looks gorgeous. I think you you've tapped into old gits like me and what we remember about Newbury, but also now tapping into the modern generation as well. And I think the work you're doing across state schools and and uh the ICC associates is unbelievable. So keep doing what you're doing, sir. Uh and thank you so much for your time and thank you for the the support for the podcast as well. You know, we really, really, really do appreciate it. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 39:37

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SPEAKER_03 40:18

So there are our friends at Newbury Cricket, and now it is competition time, it's the big day, and thanks to our friends at Newbury Cricket, we have a beautiful SBS batter giveaway. And ladies and gentlemen, this is the week. This is the week where we give this special prize away. How it will work, everybody that answered the question correctly over the last month or so. Your name has gone into the hat, or for digital purposes, a spinny wheel. Nice and simple. We will spin the wheel, and our winner, we will get in contact with and in due course to organise the shipping of the beautiful SBS bat. But first of all, church, a sad day for yourself. What are your thoughts on the departing SBS bat?

SPEAKER_05 41:00

Do you know what today reminds me of, young Hector? My first true love at junior school. Nicola something. And I was quite a rotund young man, I have to say. Mum fed me well, and I'd always had a thing about Nicola. And one day Nicola came to me and said, Mark, would you like to go to the tuck shop together and buy some sweets? And it was, oh my goodness, it was the greatest, the greatest day of my life at that point. So I went to the tuck shop with I think I overindulged. I think she probably saw then that you know I did like my sweets in those days. And then two days later, two days later she told me that she was actually gonna go out with the chap who was like, I don't know, that he was brilliant at all sports. He was the blue-eyed boy. And it only lasted for two days. Now the SPS to me is a bit like Nicola where where I just fell instantly in love and then it's being taken away from me after only a couple of days. And that is how I fit I'm heartbroken Hector, but I know it's gonna go to a good home. So so that that that is important, but it is like when Nicola, after two days, having seen me probably eat uh forty-four packets of fruit bonbons uh on our one date, suddenly went off two days later with the blue eyed boy. And and that is how I'm feeling about uh the SPS going today. By the way, I didn't really understand any of what you said of how we're going to get the winner. So yes, no. So so uh I I think you're did you say you're gonna spin a wheel when a name's gonna come up? Yes, yeah, yeah. Oh, brilliant. Well, get on with it. Would you because I I I I need to know who's won the SPS.

SPEAKER_03 42:49

Okay, so we actually do have a number of names in here. I'm gonna go ahead and do that.

SPEAKER_05 42:54

Shall I do shall I but Hector, uh don't forget we had a question last week.

SPEAKER_03 42:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 42:58

So shall I shall I do that first?

SPEAKER_06 43:01

This is not going well. So last week's question, everybody, and this is to get your name into Hector's spinning wheel.

SPEAKER_05 43:09

So last week's question was James Rue made his test match debut last week at the Oval. His brother Thomas captained England under 19 to the World Cup this year. But who did he score a century against in that World Cup? The answer was Australia. It was a top-class knock. He's just gone back-to-back championship hundreds as well. Has Thomas so if you sent in the word Australia, your name will have gone into it was a hat, it's now a spinning wheel, and uh Hector, you are now going to spin the wheel and give us the name of the winner of the beautiful SBS cricket bat.

SPEAKER_03 43:49

Here we go.

SPEAKER_05 43:55

Not much of a sound with this, is there, with your spinning wheel? Do you want me to do a spinny wheel, noise?

SPEAKER_04 44:01

I've got it.

SPEAKER_05 44:03

Oh well done. That that that was the wheel spinning, everybody. Here we go. Hector, the name of the winner of the SBS.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

Alec McClure. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_06 44:15

Are you are you sure? Play that name again for us.

SPEAKER_03 44:19

Congratulations, Alec McClure. McClear.

SPEAKER_06 44:23

Well, well done, Alec. As long as you've got the spelling of that name, of that surname, that's good. But well done, Alec, you lucky, lucky thing. You are the winner of the beautiful, beautiful, beautiful SPS.

SPEAKER_05 44:39

Alec, I hate you as much as I hated the superstar sportsman at junior school who took Nikola away from me after we'd gone on a date to the tuck shop.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

And also, our friends at Newbury have released an official Sunday service discount code. You can now use the discount code SundayService15 and get 15% off goods at www.newbrie.co.uk, excluding bespoke bats. So why not treat yourself to some premium gear and quality willow? Right, that is stumps for this episode of the Sunday service with Church and Vickers. We will be back together next Sunday, the 5th of July. So get that date in your download diary. Don't forget, you can send us your answers to the quiz and to what cricket sound is this, and you can still get anything you want to off your chest cricket wise by emailing sundayservice.pod at yahoo.com or just by tweeting at Sundayservice22.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

So thank you for listening. If you've liked what you've heard, please rate and review us because it really helps others find the podcast. Because, as we always say, we want us all to join together and be one big happy cricketing family, and that includes the England cricket team. Thank you to David White for joining us this week, and of course, thank you to our friends at Newbury Cricket for all their support and the magnificent competition prize, the SBS bat. It is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful piece of willow. And personally, I am devastated to see it going to Alec McClure. But congratulations again to Alec.

SPEAKER_03 46:20

Until next Sunday for Wales and Tunbridge Wales, this has been a Hector Vickers and Mark Church production. Have a magnificent cricketing week, everybody. And remember, if it's setting it up, whack it away for full.

SPEAKER_05 46:33

Wise words. Goodbye.