A NEW £270,000 cricket pavilion in south Cumbria will knock the competition for six when it has its grand opening later this year.

Lindal Moor Cricket Club (LMCC) and the South Lakes Maidens are on the lookout for more players to ensure their new pavilion gets plenty of use.

LMCC has more than 130 years of history but the Maidens, led by club stalwart Colin Knight, were only formed in 2012.

Their presence at Lindal, a small village between Dalton and Ulverston, put pressure on the club's ailing building and so a decision was made to improve facilities, said pavilion project manager Paul Clarke.

"The building was nearly 100 years old in places and was getting busier and busier and costing more and more to repair," he said. "As a committee we decided that this was unsustainable so we went all out for a new pavilion."

The new pavilion will have much larger dressing rooms, plus an umpires room and accessible toilets as well as a changing room for ladies on men’s match days.

Mr Clarke said: "We now have a number of girls playing senior Saturday cricket and they used to change in the toilet which wasn’t acceptable. Now they will have their own dedicated area."

The Maidens currently play against the boys in the Barrow and District under 12s league and have had some notable scalps.

They have also performed well in the Lady Taverners National competitions - reaching the area finals.

Such is the interest that next season they will have under 10’s, under 12’s and under 14’s teams plus a women’s team.

Lindal Moor themselves have three senior sides and juniors from under 10’s through to under 19’s.

“The whole place is buzzing” admitted Mr Clarke. “We have lots of kids training at the moment. This project has given the club a real boost. The building will be ready for everyone at the start of the season. The contractors, PJ Tremaine, have done an outstanding job considering the weather we’ve had. The structure is really impressive when viewed from the A590."

LMCC have received grant funding from a number of backers and have raised a substantial amount themselves to make their dreams become a reality.

The majority of the money (£105,000) came from the England and Wales Cricket Board while Sport England contributed (£75,000) and WREN (£49,000).

There has also been donations from Baywind Community Fund, the Cumbria Foundation, the Sir John Fisher Foundation, the Francis Scott Trust, the Hadfield trust, the Thomas Graham fund, Cumbria County Council’s Neighbourhood Forums and the Barrow Community Trust.

The club have also raised £20,000 themselves primarily through their buy-a-brick scheme, where people can buy a brick for £250 and either have it in their own name or in memory of a loved one.

Mr Clarke added: "I can’t wait to see our wall of fame. It will be a proud moment for all those who’ve helped make our new pavilion a reality."

The first game will be a friendly on April 23 before the Cumbria and North Lancashire league begins on April 30.

The grand opening will take place in May.

Visit www.lindalmcc.co.uk or email lindalmoorcc@yahoo.co.uk to find out more about the club.