HEMINGFORD Park Cricket Club, which played its last match six years ago after being in existence for more than a century, is making a comeback this summer.

The brand new team going in to bat for Hemingford Park this season are all aged nine and under – but the people behind the club’s revival hope that they will get enough support to eventually set up teams of all age groups.

In a separate move, an existing adult Twenty20 side, which had been run independently out of Hemingford Pavilion, will now come under the Hemingford Park Cricket Club umbrella.

John Ford, one of the organisers, set up some cricket sessions for children in the Hemingfords last summer to gauge what the interest would be in bringing the sport back to the two villages. He was astounded when more than 70 children turned up.

“We realised that the interest was there in the community,” he said. “A group of us looked at re-establishing the original cricket club, with the same logo and motto, to reflect the rich cricket heritage we had inherited.”

After securing team sponsorship from The Sports Academy and cricket coaching funding from Sport England and The Cricket Foundation, Hemingford Park Cricket Club now has 30 children aged from five to nine on its books and has registered an under-9s team in the Huntingdonshire Cricket Board Youth League.

Training sessions recently began in preparation for their first match this weekend against Godmanchester Town.

Kevin Clement, Huntingdonshire Cricket Board’s development manager, said: “Cricket is enjoying a resurgence in the UK at grassroots level and there is a lot of investment going in to the sport to ensure that more and more boys and girls have the opportunity to pick up a bat and have a go.

“I am delighted that the Hemingfords have got their cricket club back.”

Parents interested in finding out more about Hemingford Park Cricket Club under-9s can contact John Ford at john.ford12@hotmail.co.uk