Building work complete at new county cricket ground

Building work has officially finished on a new ground for Lancashire County Cricket Club.

The facility, on a site in the Farington area of South Ribble, will become a second home for the county side, to complement its main base at Emirates Old Trafford.

The Lancashire County Council-backed development was handed over at a special event on Monday, and the first matches are expected to be played in July.

While all major matches will continue to be played at Old Trafford, the 5,000-capacity Farington ground – close to the where the M6 and M65 meet – is set to host county championship and T20 games.

Lancashire Cricket's interim chairperson, Paralympic cyclist and swimmer Dame Sarah Storey, said: "We really can work from the very grassroots of the sport, all the way through to the very elite end and it's an incredible opportunity.

"I'm sure when we first get children through the doors here, we will be able to follow their journeys from that community pitch… to the professional pitch… and, who knows, from here they could go on to represent England one day, too.

"It provides us with the opportunity to reach right to the north of the county and all the way across to the south. We're a huge county in Lancashire and it's really important that we get to showcase what's on offer to all children and all communities."

She added that the pavilion also provided the space needed to host indoor events for disability cricket, boosting the sport's credentials as "one of the most inclusive".

As part of an agreement with the county council, 750 hours of community access will be provided each year.

Daniel Gidney, Lancashire Cricket Club's chief executive, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the club's men's and women's first teams would be able to enjoy training facilities akin to that found in Premier League football thanks to what was on offer at Farington.

He lauded the "genuine public-private partnership" between the club and Lancashire County Council that had made the facility possible.

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