Littleborough Lakeside’s director of cricket Richard Holland believes feeding the public will mean they have an appetite for his beloved game after putting a special grant to good use.
Holland and Littleborough Lakeside Cricket Club were awarded a grant of £2000 through the England & Wales Cricket Trust (EWCT) Small Grant Scheme.
Supported by Waitrose, the scheme aims to create a sustainable future for affiliated cricket clubs through improving their facilities.
And Littleborough Lakeside wasted no time in putting the money to good use, using the cash to help buy new kitchen appliances, something that Holland believes will have a direct impact on the pitch too.
“It’s pretty difficult to raise enough funds to complete projects so these kind of grants are an absolute god send for a club like ours because people are keen to play cricket,” said Holland.
“We’ve ordered a new cooker and oven, as well as a new fridge and freezer. The whole project has cost us around £3,000.
“We had to do some remedial work in the kitchen to bring it up to spec in terms of health and safety.
“We’ve been involved with the local council getting that done so even though we had the grant a couple of months ago the remedial work had to be done first.
“We feel there are less people playing cricket nowadays than perhaps there were a few years ago but I know the ECB have got a few things going on to bring people back into cricket and this is great for that.”
Waitrose, who also works with the ECB on their Club Open Day scheme, has supported this initiative by pledging £100 for every four or six scored across the entire 2014 home international summer, including England, England Women, England Lions and England Under-19s.
From the total boundaries scored, Gary Ballance was the England team’s biggest contributor during last summer and former captain turned ECB Cricket Partnership Ambassador Mike Gatting is delighted Littleborough Lakeside are putting the money to good use.
“We’re passionate about creating a sustainable future for cricket clubs and their communities across England and Wales,” Gatting said.
“Small grants to clubs like Littleborough Lakeside Cricket Club make a huge difference to their long term future.”
For more information about Club Open Days, supported by Waitrose, including a full list of clubs registered, visit ecb.co.uk/clubopendays
Image courtesy of Lord’s cricket Ground via YouTube, with thanks.
