Liphook & Ripsley Cricket Club has bowled over its members with a £69,000 makeover to its pavilion. The facelift that promises to not only boost the women’s game, but welcome more juniors, and bring cricket deeper into the community.

The upgrade, built to Sport England standards, was part-funded by East Hampshire District Council’s S106 Developer Contribution Funds — money paid by housing developers to support local facilities.

Until now, players changed in cramped communal rooms with shared showers and no privacy — hardly ideal as the club’s women’s and girls’ sections grew.

“Our aim was to bring our facilities into the 21st century,” said club director Steve Barrett. “We now have separate showers, modern larger changing rooms, a private umpire’s room, an accessible WC, and more toilets for supporters and visitors.”

The changes arrive at the perfect moment. Women’s cricket has been enjoying a surge in interest, thanks in part to TV coverage of tournaments such as The Hundred. Liphook’s women’s side currently plays soft ball, but the ambition is to have girls progress through the youth ranks into hard ball cricket — and to field both hard and soft ball women’s teams.

Barrett says the new pavilion is key to making that happen: “We were delighted to hear that these funds would be available to improve our clubhouse, it has already made such a difference in enabling us to offer our members and the wider community improved facilities and in turn help promote inclusiveness.”

Members have embraced the modern look — even long-standing ones who were initially cautious. And with the new facilities, the club is keen to host more women’s matches and community events.

Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC’s Portfolio Holder for Regulation & Enforcement, which includes Planning, said: “This is a fantastic scheme which has made a huge difference to the cricket pavilion.