Chipping Sodbury have been awarded a grant from the England and Wales Cricket Board in partnership with Sport England.

The South Gloucestershire club was identified by the Gloucestershire Cricket Board and by the ECB as a club of strategic and developmental importance due to their ability to contribute to the ECB’s goal to develop cricket through energising people and partnerships to deliver national goals at a local level, and to inspire people to play cricket. Chipping Sodbury have been awarded a grant of £29,325 towards the cost of a three bay synthetic practice area, which was officially opened by Gloucestershire duo Vikram Banerjee and James Fuller last week. The total project cost was £39,099.

Club secretary, Clive Reynolds, said: “We were delighted and thrilled when we were awarded the grant as we urgently needed to up-grade our practice facilities. “The new practice area is excellent and has been developed to ECB’s high quality specification. “We have over 150 young cricketers at the club and we have now been able to introduce a more structured coaching programme through our ECB qualified coaches. The new facilities will benefit all age groups and we are also developing a women’s and girls section. “Coaching is being provided in local schools and we hope to encourage more girls to play the game.

“In recent years the club has made good progress and we have achieved ECB Clubmark and Focus Club status and this has enabled us to make application for the grants. “We are grateful to the ECB and to Sport England for their most generous support as we could not afford this top class coaching facility from our own resources. “We regard the grant as an investment in the cricket at the club for the future and for the benefit of the local community.”

The investment supports Sport England’s and the ECB’s national strategy 2009-2013 which aims to grow the number of people playing sport, sustain participation by encouraging more people to keep playing sport, and help talented sports people excel.

Bruce Cruse, the ECB’s National Funding and Facilities Manager, said: “The ECB is pleased to invest in this worthy project and to give a boost to grass roots facility development.

“I am confident as the investment matures cricket locally will go from strength to strength.”