THE chairman of Malmesbury Cricket Club said he was bowled over by the support the club had received after they launched a crowd funder to help pay for a new two lane practice area at the club.

Steve Jepson, who has been the chairman of the club for the last ten years, said he hopes to invest in the future of the club by encouraging children to pick up a bat and get on the field at The Worthys over the summer.

The club, who have defied near bankruptcy, have so far raised more than £14,000 out of their £22,000 target but the committee remain confident that the gap can be closed.

Mr Jepson said: "The £14,000 is a nice surprise for us really as we were pretty much bankrupt about ten years ago and in the last two years we have held some really good social events and raised much needed cash as we have always wanted to replace our dilapidated nets.

"We have also had a lot of support from friends of the club and so far we have raised £14,000 out of the £22,000 that we need so I went ahead and ordered them and I am fairly confident we can close that gap in the next few weeks.

"This is the first part of our intention to invest in the club as a whole and the next thing on the list is to look at rebuilding the buildings we have on site."

After deciding to focus on providing training to youngsters in the community, the club has seen a surge in younger members with more than 80 children attending one of their last training sessions.

"We think we do a good job and a good thing in the community," Mr Jepson added. "Our focus on training more children is part of a national initiative because over the last ten years, cricket has suffered. It is not being shown on television much anymore and generally it is regarded as an older person's sport.

"We have realised that if you get the kids playing at around eight or nine, they will continue to play until they are about 15 and that is brilliant."

For more information or to donate visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/malmesbury-cricket-club-net-practice-facilities.