THE England and Wales Cricket Board has announced that Callington Cricket Club has been awarded a grant from the Government's £9.4 Community Club Development Programme — monies which have been pledged to the ECB and are targeted at upgrading cricket club facilities.
The Community Club Development Programme is a funding package developed by Sport England and the Government to develop stronger links between the country's leading clubs and their local communities. The funds are then allocated to ECB to distribute to selected clubs.
Callington Cricket Club was identified by the England and Wales Cricket Board as a club deserving support because of the strength of their junior cricket development programme.
The Club has benefited to the tune of £58,228 which has enabled them to completely relay and level the cricket square. In addition synthetic match and practice pitch has been laid on the edge of the square.
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The Club's Director of Cricket, Kingsley Mortimore, said "We were delighted when we were awarded the grant because the need to up-grade our 12 pitch square was a priority. Previously the square was unsatisfactory because it was on three levels but it has now been completely levelled and relaid to a high specification.
"The work was carried out in two stages over the last 18 months and we are pleased with the work done. We are confident that the up-grade of the playing conditions of the square will help us to improve playing standards.
"We have over 50 junior cricketers and the provision of a synthetic match/practice pitch is a bonus because good safe pitches are so important for the development of young cricketers.
"We are a genuine community club with nearly 400 social members and we are very grateful to ECB for their generous support as we could not afford this project from our own resources. We regard the grant as an investment in cricket at the Club for the future."