NICK HOWSON: After being confirmed as the ECB's inaugural representatives at next year's European Cricket League, the Norfolk club are pinching themselves as they prepare to take another giant step
As with all these things, it started on social media. LinkedIn messages are generally best ignored, but not this one. And from the moment Swardeston chairman Stuart Bartram opened a note from European Cricket League founder Dan Weston, the history of his beloved club was instantly transformed.
As England embarked and eventually failed to claim a famous World Cup and Ashes double, Norfolk's finest were not to be denied. Across seven days in September, they snaffled two major trophies. First, they claimed the ECB National Club Championship, beating Nantwich at Lord's to capture their maiden title in the 40-over competition.
At Derbyshire's County Ground the following weekend they doubled up, snaring the National Club Twenty20 crown for the third time. Though in slightly humbler surroundings than the home of cricket, it was the 21-run win over Toft CC which has catapulted them into a position they could never have dreamed of.
"Absolutely thrilled really," Bartram told The Cricketer. "We've had a fantastic 2019. I don't think any of us involved could have envisaged us winning both of those national titles.
"It seems like a natural progression for this set of players to move to the next level and test ourselves on an international platform. We're very happy to be considered as the ECB's champions really, up against 14 other nations.
"It is right up there (in the club's history). It is difficult to say just months after winning the national title at the home of cricket. It is not something we could have dreamed of happening. But this is certainly the next level."
Swardeston could be celebrating again next summer
Despite its inaugural edition taking place in one of world cricket's busiest years, the ECL was still able to leave an impression on the landscape. The winners of eight major national competitions converged on La Manga for a week-long T10 tournament. Jibes about the quality on social media were quickly replaced by tributes regarding the cause. Driven by Romanian Pavel Florin, who was heralded for his bowling action and passion for cricket, the first year was a success.
Not content on labouring on that encouraging first edition, the ECL will enjoy immediate growth in 2020. Sixteen teams will enter this time around. Sides from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland have joined the party. England are the latest representatives.
But Swardeston's new place among Europe's elite is no fluke. The club's history, which can be traced back over 150 years, has always been geared towards building something of substance. There are six senior sides, a youth system with teams from Under-9 to Under-19 and, since 2014, a women and girls section. The timing of their inclusion in the ECL might be fortuitous but there is nothing plucky about their rapid ascent. If their double success in 2019 didn't prove that, their seven East Anglian Premier League titles certainly do.
Perhaps even more exciting than the prospect of travelling to the South of Spain at the end of next May, the media coverage and added exposure which will undoubtedly follow, is the positive knock-on effect their participation could have. Suddenly, it breathes new life into the national T20 competition, knowing what rewards await. And for youth systems up and down the country, domestic success is now not the only goal available to them. Now that's a legacy.
"You can imagine every single team being in our position thinking about what a fantastic opportunity it could be for them, as they start to think about their entries for next season and what it might mean if they're able to go all the way," added Bartram.
Pavel Florin took the ECL by storm last year
"We're a small village side, just six or seven miles outside of Norwich. We have a long history and a good catchment but we've built ourselves up from village green to Lord's across the years.
"We run the largest All-Stars centre in the East Anglian Premier League. More than 60 five to eight-years-olds turned up last summer. Those guys can see a pathway right into the first team, the introduction into adult cricket and if they work hard enough and have a fair bit of luck they could be in the first team taking these opportunities.
"I think if you told the current crop they would end up at Lord's playing for Swardeston, and then taking part in an international competition they'd say there is no way that can happen. Here we are a few years later and that is a reality."
After being given the opportunity to revel in the opportunity, it doesn't take Bartram long to turn his attention towards the task that will be at hand. There is a winning mentality running through the club and after all a unique treble is up for grabs.
"We have a bunch of players who have been building to this for the past six years, a number of those lads have come through our youth development and it is a very exciting opportunity for them," he gleamed.
Swardeston completed the first half of their famous double at Lord's
"We are apprehensive of course; we know there will be some good clubs and a high standard of opposition. We want to go there with the right attitude and be competitive and see how far that takes us. That is something that has held us well over the last decade.
"We try and keep our feet on the ground. I don't suppose any one of those players wouldn't have thought about winning. It has got to have crossed their mind at some stage.
"Before we played at Lord's and Derby our captain Joe Gatting was stressing that we play the match rather than the occasion. It is rather difficult because not every club gets to walk out on to the turf at Lord's.
"You need to put that to the back of your mind if you can and concentrate on playing the game. That is even harder next year once we get to La Manga. We arrive there on the Sunday night, the huge scale of the welcome party and opening ceremony and all that stuff and then you get down to the matches. It will really hit us then."
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