The England and Yorkshire seam bowler Tim Bresnan along with Katherine Brunt and Danielle Hazell – two members of the incredibly talented England Women’s Team – were at Harrogate Cricket Club on Sunday 7 August to officially open the Club’s brand new pavilion.
The new building replaces the old pavilion, which was badly damaged by fire several years ago, and provides spectators with excellent views over both of the Club’s cricket pitches from the 1st floor. It will also provide both officials and players with refreshment areas, and separate changing rooms.
The pavilion cost £825,000 and well over half the money (£500k) was provided by the ECB (the England and Wales Cricket Board) in partnership with Sport England via a grant. The Club’s members raised the rest of the money.
The Chairman of Harrogate Cricket Club, Steven Culleton said that he regarded the grants as an investment in cricket at the Club and a benefit for the local community. “The large function room, kitchen and meeting rooms are fantastic facilities for the teams and spectators on match days and are available for community use at other times.”
He expressed his warm gratitude to the ECB and Sport England for the generous support and acknowledged that the club couldn’t have built such a prestigious pavilion from its own resources. He also thanked the Club’s members for their role in raising the residual funds.
Charles Johnson, Sport England’s Director of Property, said that the award was part of the ECB’s strategy to invest in sustainable and high-quality facilities, as this would help to develop up-and-coming cricketing talent attract, and to attract new participants to the game.
The National Funding and Facilities Manager for the ECB, Bruce Cruse, added, “The ECB is pleased to support this development at Harrogate CC which will give a boost to grass roots cricket in the area and to the development of women’s and girls’ cricket in Yorkshire. I am confident as the investment matures cricket locally will go from strength to strength and the facilities will benefit the wider community.”
One of the key areas that Harrogate Cricket Club wish to strengthen is Women’s Cricket, and it hopes to become a hub for this side of the game. The Club is going to be the base for the Yorkshire Women’s side, with the aim of hosting international women’s cricket matches in the years ahead.
After the official opening ceremony, Katherine Brunt and Danielle Hazell played for Yorkshire in a Women’s County fixture at the ground against the Middlesex Women 1st XI which they lost by just one run despite the England pair taking 4 wickets between them.
If you’re looking to stay in Harrogate, why not check out the Harrogate hotels and Harrogate guest houses on Hello Yorkshire.