Andover Cricket Club has asked members of the public for support as part of a drive to refurbish its pavilion.

The cricket club is applying to Test Valley Borough Council for a grant to cover some of the cost of replacing windows and doors on the building, which have deteriorated since the building was constructed nearly 60 years ago.

The club is asking members of the public to demonstrate support for the community asset fund grant application by liking a post on their Facebook page.

“The more likes this post gets, the more likely the project will receive grant funding,” the club said.

Since being built in the early 1960s, the cricket club’s pavilion has run down over time, with boarded up windows and a door “hanging by a thread”. As a result, the club is hoping to raise the funds to restore the building, as well as purchase replacement nets for the mobile cricket cages.

“We need to make the pavilion usable,” said Dilys Williams, the club’s president. “It is somewhat sad looking. We need to replace all the windows and doors, as they have deteriorated to a point where they’re not safe.”

She said the work would make a big difference to the club and those who come to visit.

“People will be surprised how much difference it makes,” she said. “Having a refresh to make the pavilion more loved will give everyone a boost. It shows we can all get back to cricket in the community, and allow us to welcome players new and old.”

The work will cost £7,000-8,000 in total, which will partly be funded by the club itself. The club is no stranger to running fundraisers, with the club having raised several thousand pounds for essential ground equipment, outdoor training facilities and most recently for an electronic scoreboard in memory of their former president and first team scorer, Lesley Morgan.

“For a grassroots cricket club, a capital spend is a stretch,” said Dilys. “Anything that helps us reinvest in the infrastructure is a huge plus. Covid hasn’t helped, because we couldn’t act normally last year so couldn’t hold fundraising events.”

To assist with their grant application, you can follow this link to Andover Cricket Club’s Facebook page to like their post.