Our company
From humble beginnings, we have grown into a multi-million pound company - now one of the world's largest cricket and hockey equipment retailers, dispatching nearly 100,000 orders worldwide every year.
Formed by three friends in 1999, the business flourished from a small shop in Fordingbridge, Hampshire where it quickly became apparent that the need for quality specialist products was nationwide.
We were one of the first cricket and hockey specialists to go live with a website at the beginning of the Internet boom in 1999. In 2002 we moved to a new warehouse just north of Salisbury which we quickly outgrew within a couple of years. If we were to maintain our profile as suppliers of specialist equipment across the full range of brands we needed something much larger both for stock and administration.
In 2005 we moved into our current warehouse - a purpose built unit in Downton, Wiltshire, which is where all our orders are packed and dispatched each day. In 2022 we purchased an additional warehouse on the same Industrial Estate to store our growing levels of stock.
In 2006 we launched our own brand called Funky which took the cricket market by storm. They are uniquely designed in consultation with professional cricketers and are used by top Hampshire players as well as former England player Simon Jones and many other top cricketers around the country. In 2011 we started making Funky Hockey sticks using the same principles as we did with cricket - to produce outstanding value for money products which perform at the highest level.
2011 saw a major expansion to the business as we went into partnership with the Rose Bowl - the home of Hampshire Cricket. We ran the Rose Bowl Shop for 10 years until 2021 when the club took it back under their own control.
We still, however, operate with a tight knit team of just nine dedicated people who are experts in both sports. This enables us to offer a level of service you will not find elsewhere, so when place an order or contact us, you are dealing direct with the owners or qualified experts who really do know what they are talking about.
The ethos of the company remains unchanged; we select our entire products individually, based on the quality, functionality and value they represent to our customers and make sure that they are all in stock for immediate delivery - something most of our competitors do not do. This has helped form our outstanding reputation for fast delivery, excellent customer service and after sales care.
See for yourself what our customers think about us - check out the feedback we receive on TrustPilot - an independent review website. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.cricket-hockey.com
Meet the Team
Jamie Harvey - Managing Director
Born in 1978, Jamie played cricket for South Wilts & Lymington in the Southern Premier League. He has recently re-established his local cricket club in Winterbourne, near Salisbury. The legacy left by Jamie’s grandfather, the England off-spin bowler Jim Laker, has left him with many connections from the golden era of cricket. Prior to starting the business, he worked at Lord's Cricket Ground and is a qualified coach. As the IT guru, Jamie builds and maintains the website, manages all the marketing and social media campaigns, is in charge of the finances, and is responsible for everything to do with the e-commerce side of the business.
Christian Pain- Sales Director
Born in 1981, Christian has played cricket ever since he was old enough to hold a bat, he started playing for his local village club Hyde in the New Forest and gravitated to Southern Premier League Clubs, captaining Lymington and playing for South Wilts. In 2014 during a brief move to Chester he played for the national T20 champions Chester Boughton Hall. He is also a keen hockey player and plays regularly for his local side Romsey. Christian joined the business in 2014 and is head of sales and purchasing.
Michael Pain - Director
Born in 1949, Michael has five children and 9 grandchildren. He captained his local New Forest village cricket club Hyde, is a qualified coach and worked with Hampshire youth cricket squads for 17 years. He currently serves on the Hampshire County Cricket Club Committee. Although now retired from the main business, he still maintains an interest and helps out whenever needed.
Tom Marlow - Warehouse Manager
Born in 1992, Tom joined us from his early days as a work experience lad in 2008; Tom comes from a long line of family cricketers who play in the most charming village of Breamore. Tom’s passion and understanding of the game plays a major part when checking goods into the warehouse, picking orders or serving customers in the showroom.
Isla Perkins - Warehouse Assistant
Isla works alongside Tom in our warehouse and spends most of her time checking in the never ending delivieries we receive from suppliers.
Harry Morris - Warehouse Assistant
Harry has been with us since 2018, initially mainly as a packer but he now oversees the other packers and helps with goods in, the picking of orders and serving in the showroom when needed. He also plays cricket and hockey.
Jamie Bundy - Head of Customer Services
Jamie joined in 2021 from Help for Heroes. He heads up customer service so will likely be the first port of call if you email, whatsapp us or call us over the phone. He also deals with all returns and helps out in the warehouse when needed. He is a keen sportsman, playing cricket and hockey for a local club and enjoys football, golf and motorsport.
Richard Pearce - Store Manager
Rich is the latest member of our team and joined in 2022. His main responsibility is to look after our walk in customers so he is likely to be the first face you see when visiting us. Rich is also a keen cricket and hockey player.
Testimonials
“Excellent. Easy, quick and very user friendly. Good price for item and very happy overall.”
Mrs J Brown
“Excellent service. Received item next day. Fully recommend.”
Mr A Ingram
“Quick delivery, reasonable price, and stocked an item that I had trouble buying elsewhere. Great service.”
S Newman
“1st class service. Arrived promptly. V.pleased with product. As described.”
Miss C Dunning
“Everything was brilliant far better than other websites. Also arrived in time for a match.”
Mr P Hardy