Trustees Week 2026: Denbigh Cricket Club Craig Stubbs

Trustees Week 2026: Denbigh Cricket Club Craig Stubbs

In October 2025, Cricket Wales became the first national governing body (NGB) in Wales to achieve charitable status. As a result, cricket clubs up and down Wales are now considering, or are in the process of themselves becoming registered charities. It’s a new movement that’s gathering pace, for both commercial and philanthropic reasons.

Craig Stubbs is a Trustee of Denbigh Cricket Club, one of the few cricket clubs in North Wales to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) having recently registered in February 2026.

We chatted to Craig about being a Trustee and the impact of the club becoming a CIO.

Why I decided to become a trustee…

“There are many reasons why I decided to become a trustee. I’ve been on the committee of Denbigh Cricket Club since I was 15, that’s over 30 years now, and I’ve always been involved in sports clubs and volunteering across North Wales and the Northwest. It’s incredibly rewarding and it helps me to keep learning, challenging and growing professionally and personally.

“As CEO of The Neston Club and Parkgate Clubhouse in Cheshire, one of the biggest sports clubs in the Northwest, I feel a responsibility to use my knowledge and experience as much as possible to help other non-professional, volunteer sports clubs grow. I genuinely want sports, fitness and health clubs to succeed, for the physical and mental health of our nation and for the good of our future communities and workforce.”

Lessons in sport…

“I’ve always benefited from playing sport, at different levels of ability, and I’ve seen the joy others get out of it too. I’ve learnt some harsh lessons about losing and some memorable lessons about winning. Many of the experiences I’ve had in both individual and team sports, have set me up to succeed in the commercial world. For example, ‘teamwork’ definitely makes the ‘dream work’.

“I think it was Michael Jordan who said, ‘Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.’ My teams at The Neston Club and the Trustee and Committee Team at Denbigh Cricket Club prove this to me time and time again.”

Having charitable status makes sense…

“I’m working with other sports clubs at the moment that are going through the transition to becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO); that’s what Denbigh Cricket Club is.

“I’m currently working with England Hockey and they have restricted the award of grants only to clubs which are registered as a CIO. This looks to be the way it is going.  I’m a life member at my local rugby club and have seen the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) mandate similar requirements on clubs to become CIOs in order to receive higher levels of funding.”

Becoming a CIO makes sense for a variety of reasons

Legal reassurance of good governance, public benefit and accountability

Some governing bodies are restricting grant funding and the awarding of grants only to clubs registered as a CIO. This is because there is a lot of pressure on governing bodies to ensure funds are used wisely and sustainably, the decisions they make about who gets funding come under public scrutiny.

Funders prefer CIO status because it means they are registered charities, this provides legal reassurance of good governance, public benefit and accountability.

CIO’s also have their own legal identity, which is important for the protection of employees, enables them as a business to enter into commercial contracts and to own and manage assets such as property. The structure allows them to operate independently and manage their own affairs.

Limited personal liability

One of the main reasons for becoming a CIO for those involved at Denbigh Cricket Club was security. Employees and decision makers benefit from having limited liability. As an unincorporated club, it left the trustees, committee and members open to potential litigation and claims. Unfortunately, we live in such a litigious world now, it was too big a risk to have people involved in the club open to unlimited personal liability.

Greater funding opportunities

As an unincorporated company, it was a real challenge to get credit terms without one of the trustees or committee having to provide a personal guarantee, for example with the wholesale suppliers of the food and drink. It used to be the case that one of the team would have to have credit checks done against them personally. It makes it much easier to deal with other companies and subcontractors.

Donations come with a mutual benefit for those giving and receiving

Denbigh CC only recently registered as a CIO in February 2026, so we haven’t realised a lot of the benefits yet. We will undoubtedly see more benefits over the next few years, but for now it’s still a relatively new concept for us.

Gift Aid

We are working to attract more charitable donations and, as a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), we are now able to benefit from Gift Aid. Gift Aid allows Denbigh CC to increase eligible donations by 25% at no extra cost to the donor. That means for every £1 someone gives, we can claim an additional 25p from HMRC — turning their £1 into £1.25.

It’s a win–win: supporters give the same amount, but their contribution goes even further. This is especially valuable for local companies and businesses, as their donations can be offset against business profits, making charitable giving both impactful and tax efficient.

“I’d encourage any sports club to look into becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO),” said Craig, “and I’d encourage anyone interested in becoming a Trustee to go for it. It’s incredibly rewarding!”

About Denbigh Cricket Club

Craig is Trustee and Vice Chair at Denbigh Cricket Club Denbigh CC

Denbigh CC is one of the few cricket clubs in North Wales to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) having recently registered in February 2026. The club is also CASC registered so already had a charity number enabling it to claim gift aid. There are four male trustees including the Club Chair, each bringing different skills, experience and knowledge.

There are 16 teams in total at the club, ranging from The First, Second and Third XI, Twenty20, Midweek and a mixed Friendly Team. There’s a Women’s First Team (softball) and nine junior teams ranging from U15 to U9s for both girls and boys. Five of these are girls only teams spanning ages U14 to U10s, with one of these teams jointly supported by another local cricket club, Pontblyddyn.

All the teams play in the North Wales Cricket League and notably:

• The Women’s Team topped the NWCL Softball Division 2 East in 2026
• The Second XI ranked first in the NWCL Division 3 in 2025
• Boys U11 won the NWCL Junior Indoor League in 2025
• Girls U12, U11 and U10s played multiple cricket festivals throughout the summer, gaining valuable experience and teamworking skills

Proud moment for Denbigh CC in 2026: Bethan Evans, Junior Organiser and Women’s and Girls Pathway Lead, won the Cricket Wales, Metro Bank Champion of Girls’ Cricket Award at the Cricket Collective Awards.