EVESHAM Cricket Club, in support of Evesham Sports Club and teaming up with the Rugby and Bowling sections, is fighting back after the disastrous floods of July last year.

The cricket ground was flooded to a depth of ten feet with dirty, turbulent flood water, while the clubhouse, pavilion and other facilities were badly damaged.

Work is under way rebuilding the clubhouse, which it is hoped will be refurbished and ready for use in March.

The pavilion, a wooden building, was uninsurable for flood damage, but the club secured a Flood Relief grant from the English Cricket Board that paid for a new hot water boiler for the showers and repairs and replacement of fencing around the ground.

Fortunately, the silt damage to the squares and outfield is being made good from a timely ECB-funded "Fine Turf" project, which had been approved before the flood.

The top has been taken off both squares, which have been laser-levelled, re-laid and re-seeded. Work on the outfield is continuing over the winter and will mean that the playing area will be first rate for the new season.

The cricket section is in the frame for an ECB grant for new four-lane nets which will replace the nets destroyed by the floods.

Insurance is paying for the non-turf match pitch to be re-laid and also repairs to covers and sightscreens.

The Sports Club has received a grant from Wychavon District Council which will allow upgrading of the clubhouse kitchen to a much higher standard; another hot water boiler; and new floor covering for the Pavilion.

By the start of the cricket season in April, the playing area, clubhouse and pavilion will have made a triumphant recovery from the destruction caused and the pitches, outfield and facilities will be better than ever on what was already one of the best grounds in the county.