A big fundraising effort paid off as Snodland Community Cricket Club opened their new practice facility.

The club raised £3,000 to replace their temporary nets, constructed out of scaffolding, with a new cage.

They were assisted by a grant from neighbours South East Water, with the new facility unveiled last week.

Snodland had previously raised £1,500 for a new practice mat.

“We fundraised a couple of years ago and managed to get the mat facility, which we put just outside the outfield,” said chairman Mike Watts. “But we ran out of money, so one of the guys who’s a scaffolder put a temporary frame up.

“As of now, I’m pleased to say, with our own fundraising and support from South East Water, we have a proper cricket cage to put around the practice mat.

“The net facility was a £3,000 investment, the matting was £1,500 and we’ve invested in lots of other stuff in terms of ground maintenance, little bits and pieces that go unnoticed, so we’ve probably invested £6,000 in new facilities and equipment in the last two or three years.

“As a sports club, we have no revenue stream, so we have to fundraise, and a big part of that was our inaugural fundraising day at the ground last year which coincided with the hottest day of the year.

“Even so, we had a massive turnout and lots of stalls and everyone enjoyed it. It’s all about making the club part of the local community. This year’s fundraiser is on July 15, and we’re hoping to make it even bigger.”

Snodland Community’s thriving youth section will also benefit from the new facilities.

Three years ago, they launched the Little Dragons programme, providing coaching to children aged five to 14 every Thursday evening throughout the summer. Numbers are good, which bodes well for the future.

“It’s our second full season delivering the programme to the local community,” said Watts.

“On the back of that, we’ve put some of our members through coaching courses, so we can give back to the local community.

“It’s all about fun, to get kids into cricket and potentially playing cricket for the club, because it’s difficult to find people unless they’ve been involved since a young age.

“We’re a relatively small club and we’re looking at ways to future-proof the club moving forward, which means bringing the future generations through.

“This year we have 35 kids on the books who come along every week and in challenging financial times it works out at £1.50 a session.”