St Ives & Warboys Cricket Club has been celebrating after being awarded £2,000 of National Lottery funding.

The moeny from Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund will go towards the club’s fixed and ongoing grounds maintenance costs during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of March 23 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty.

In response, on March 31 Sport England announced a £195million package to help the sport and physical activity sector through difficult times.

Within that package is a £20m Community Emergency Fund of National Lottery money to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of the health crisis.

The grant will allow St Ives & Warboys Cricket Club to cover its insurance, affiliation and ongoing maintenance costs for the coming months, during a period when no income is

being received through annual membership and playing fees.

Martin Croucher, St Ives & Warboys Cricket Club chairman, said: “During such a period of uncertainty, this financial assistance from Sport England will help significantly.

“With no cricket being played or revenue coming in, these funds have enabled us to cover the bulk of our fixed costs such as insurance and annual affiliations and also ensure our ground

continues to be maintained ready for when cricket does eventually return.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s chief executive, added: “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future.

“The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players, is part of a multi-million pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge umber of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to St Ives & Warboys Cricket Club to help it through these extremely challenging times.”