A VILLAGE cricket club is to name its ground in memory of a former chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club.

The Stoke St Mary field will be known as the Charles F. B. Clark Cricket Ground in honour of Charles Clark, who lived in the village for many years.

Former Somerset and England captain and current national batting coach Marcus Trescothick will officially name the ground at a mini cricket tournament and family event.

Participating will be four teams comprising members of the Stoke St Mary cricket squad, villagers, friends, family and guest appearances by Somerset stars including captain Tom Abell and Tom Banton

The event will raise funds for the village and the Somerset Cricket Foundation, which supports more than 150 clubs, offering cricket opportunities in their communities.

The foundation is particularly focused on delivering programmes to people with disabilities and prioritising diversifying the game so it is accessible to everyone.

Mr Clark, a well-known businessman across the South West, died in 2019.

He had lived in Stoke St Mary with his wife, Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow, and their three children for more than 30 years and was a vibrant part of village life.

A partner, and former chairman at Greenslade Taylor Hunt, Mr Clark was a seventh generation agricultural auctioneer and used his speech making talents to raise more than £2million for a range of charities.

His love of cricket, particularly Somerset, was paramount.

He was proud to have served on the Somerset County Cricket Club committee from 2010 before becoming chairman in 2018, a role Ms Pow described as his “dream job”, where he was delighted to oversee the club hoisting the London One Day Cup Championship trophy at Lords in 2019.

The commemorative fund raising cricket match is taking place on Sunday, August 22, at the Stoke St Mary cricket ground, starting at 2pm.

Entrance donations on the gate, cash bar, raffle, hot air balloon and there will be an appearance by the much loved alpacas of Stoke.