PETERSFIELD Cricket Club held a reception on Saturday afternoon to thank everyone who contributed to the club’s successful grant application to Sport England.

The club was awarded £75,000 as a share of National Lottery funding from Sport England in October through its Inspired Facilities fund.

The £75,000 grant means the club has raised approximately £100,000 to upgrade and modernise facilities and the pavilion at the Heath.

New changing rooms, a social area, showers and toilets, including facilities for the disabled, will be installed in the 1970s building.

Saturday’s reception was attended by club members and officials, many councillors, Petersfield Mayor Lesley Farrow, and East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds.

Petersfield Cricket Club chairman James Stratford-Tuke said: “Saturday was primarily a thank you to those who have supported us.

“Our grants manager Carolyn Warne was the driving force behind the bid.

“We intend to design a new interior for the pavilion, and we will go out to tender with a view to complete the work in time for next season. We appreciate that is very ambitious, but it is doable.

“This is not just about modernising the facilities for cricketers, it is about making the most of a community asset.

“We provide cricket for everybody in the community.

“We’re a community club, and we want to make the most of a community facility. If the Heath is the jewel in the crown of Petersfield, we’re the sparkling diamond.”