A WEST Devon village cricket club has scored
? with a lottery grant.
Spreyton Cricket Club has scooped £7,200 and aims to use the cash to broaden its appeal in the area.
The four-year-old club thought an artificial grass strip was a project way beyond its financial means so members decided to have a bash at applying for lottery cash.
Club secretary Chris Filor said: ?To our surprise we had confirmation of a grant of £5,000 from the Awards for All scheme which is the largest grant you can get. With this very high spec artificial wicket we will no longer have to cancel matches if the ground is soggy, which it often is, and we can use it for training.?
The club wants to make cricket more popular with school children and is in the process of writing to local schools to offer training.
?State schools do not seem to major on cricket, but we would like to see lots more young people take it up,? said Chris.
?We are a fledgling club but most of our members are middle aged and upwards ? our fastest bowler is nearly 60 so we would like some young blood.?
Because of the club?s age and the popularity of other sports such as football and rugby, members though lottery funding would be a long shot.
?Now we have this fantastic facility which has cost the club very little apart from some time and effort in putting the application together and we are thrilled.
?We just want to make sure it gets the use it deserves.?
Spreyton Cricket Club was formed after a field was donated to the village by a local resident.
The club currently plays friendly matches but would like to become more competitive with some junior talent.