Link between cricket and beer is occasionally bitter but members are close to seeing the fruits of their own labour

The link between cricket clubs and beer is long and not always frothy. Some have held real-ale festivals on site, others have split over bitter disputes around bar takings, many more are kept in business by the thirst of their patrons. But very few – if any – grow their own hops. Step into the ring, East Rainton CC.

Set in an ex-mining village between Sunderland and Durham, East Rainton (formerly known as Hazard Colliery CC) dug in their first hops plant last year against the sunny south-facing wall of their clubhouse, in collaboration with the local nano-brewery Wear Beer. That name may be familiar from when the brewery hit the headlines 15 months ago, after being served a legal letter by Mercedes Benz, which objected to its logo – featuring the Lambton worm wrapped around a three-pointed red star.