Cricketers plan ‘first-class facilities’ at Grainville, using £300,000 government grant

Grainville cricket pitch and Grainville pavilion Picture: ROB CURRIE

Craig Meredith, chief executive of the Jersey Cricket Board, said that the body intended to make the facility its headquarters and a heavy refurbishment of the pavilion was being targeted by the end of the year.

The JCB received £300,000 of funding as part of the first tranche of the Government of Jersey’s £50 million Fiscal Stimulus Fund, which was designed to help lift the Island’s economy from the effects of Covid-19.

‘The sole purpose of the application to the fiscal stimulus was to effectively modernise the whole of the Grainville pavilion and that cricket site,’ said Meredith.

‘We’re looking to take over this facility, run it ourselves and upgrade it to a modern standard. We’re looking at a complete refurbishment of the pavilion, with a main focus on changing rooms that are fit for purpose and up to date with safeguarding and welfare standards.’

He said that the upgrade would aim to improve the facilities so that the Island had two top class pitches – Grainville and the Farmers’ Cricket Club – and could attract more ‘first-class cricket’, including ICC tournaments.

‘We’ve got good links with the south-coast counties and Middlesex as well now, so we are looking at targeting and getting first-class games over here a lot more,’ he said.

‘We’ve held games at the Farmer’s before, which is a private facility, and what they’ve got there is phenomenal. To host ICC tournaments, we need two grounds at that standard, so the Jersey Cricket Board is looking at investing itself heavily in Granville. That’s what the fiscal stimulus is there for – to generate revenue streams within the Island from outside. We want to give the Island the high-level praise and identity for how well we perform on the world stage.’

Meredith said that he hoped the work at Grainville could be completed within six or seven months

‘Our plans and architects – everything is done. We are just finalising the heads of terms with the government and as soon as that is done, we are good to go,’ he said.

‘We’re hoping to see a degree of completion on the pavilion side of our plans before the end of the year.’

The domestic cricket season is due to start next week, with a World Cup Qualifier set to be staged in the Island in September.

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