Witney News - Nets and all-weather pitch will boost cricket in Carterton

Nets and all-weather pitch will boost cricket in Carterton

A cricket club that brings together the military and civilian communities in Carterton is hoping to expand after work was completed to create top-class training nets and an all-weather pitch.

Kilkenny (Carterton) Cricket Club netted grants of £10,000 from West Oxfordshire District Council, £33,750 from the Community Covenant, £3,000 from Carterton Town Council and used £3,000 of its own funds to install the new facilities.

Its members, including both local residents and RAF Brize Norton servicemen, are already using the nets and pitch to get in some extra practice and the Club is hoping that the facilities will help it to develop, while giving more people the chance to get involved in playing cricket.

The Club is based at the Sports Pavilion in Monahan Way, Carterton, and has around 50 adult members with 1st and 2nd teams in Division 5 of the OCA league.

Club development officer, Sgt Jason Penn, said: “The facilities we’ve got in Carterton are now some of the best around. We’re obviously very grateful for the funding support and are working hard to develop the Club, particularly with a junior section. At the moment, children and young people have to travel out of Carterton to play cricket and we want to change that – we want them to come here and have fun playing cricket in their own community.

“The relationship between military and civilian members is very good and we also want to continue building on that. What we’d really like eventually is to become a Centre of Excellence for Cricket and put Carterton on the map for the sport.”

The Club is working closely with the District Council, which owns the Sports Pavilion and grounds, Carterton Town Council and RAF Brize Norton, and is planning to invite local schoolchildren to an event to mark the official opening of the new facilities. They will have the chance to try out the new facilities and the Club hopes it will inspire them to get involved in playing cricket. Further details will be announced shortly.