Glos players swap bats for brushes to help local cricket club

Players from Gloucestershire County Cricket Club will be

brushing up on their DIY skills this weekend as they help Winterbourne CC paint

their new pavilion.

Around 15 of the squad will join an army of volunteers

lending a hand as part of the 2013 Natwest CricketForce initiative.

One of the players giving up his time to help is GCCC

batsman Dan Housego.

He said: "The players at Gloucestershire County Cricket Club

are delighted to be able to support our local clubs in any way we can.

"I am not sure what some of the lads painting skills will be

like but we are looking forward to doing our bit to help Winterbourne CC move a

step closer to completing their pavilion, which will be a fantastic facility

for the cricket club and the local community."

The new pavilion has been 18months in the making and

includes new changing rooms, toilets and showers, a kitchen, lounge area and

facilities for people with disabilities. It is hoped that Winterbourne's third

and fourth teams will be able to use the changing rooms from the start of the

new season and the whole thing will be completed by the end of the summer.

Club secretary Liz Bracey said: "I think it will be

fantastic for our members because the last time a lot of them saw it, it was

just a shell and now it is a club house.

"People have been very good about giving up their time to

help but having the GCCC players there on Saturday will encourage more people

to come and lend a hand and it will be a great morale boost for everyone."

At the start of the project Winterbourne – who have five

senior teams and six junior league sides - couldn't afford to employ a

contractor and relied on club stalwarts Alan Luton and Mike Anstey to do much

of the work. The pair gave up their time to complete all the block work for free

and were subsequently awarded a Natwest OSCA (Outstanding Services to Cricket

Award) for their efforts.

The club found a number of other innovative ways to keep

their costs down, including working with construction students from South

Gloucestershire and Stroud College. They have also been awarded a grant from

the England and Wales Cricket Trust and were recently given around £750 worth

of building materials for free by Wiltshire construction firm Gaiger Brothers.

Steve Silk, cricket development manager at the Gloucestershire

Cricket Board said: "It is fantastic to see the pavilion project coming to

fruition.  It just shows that when people

put in the time and effort great things can happen. The original quote was

around £250k to £270k but by asking questions, speaking to different people and

forming partnerships with groups like the College they have managed to get it

built for a fraction of the cost.

 "It is also great to

see GCCC recognising the role they have to play in the community, engaging with

clubs and encouraging more people to get involved in the game at grass roots

level."