Two cricket clubs in the district are celebrating today after they were given large grants as part of a Sport England programme designed to protect the playing fields of England.

Haworth Cricket Club, on West Lane, has been granted £50,000 from the ‘Protected Playing Fields’ scheme, which is funded by the National Lottery.

Meanwhile, a £46,000 grant has been awarded to Olicanian Cricket Club in Denton Road, Ilkley.

The clubs are among 97 sports projects across England to receive a share of £5.5 million of funding.

At Haworth, the cash will enable the club to make improvements to its cricket pitch, which is currently unplayable or very difficult for players to negotiate during bad weather.

The work will include levelling out the pitch and re-grading the surface, helping to reduce doubts about matches taking place and cancellations.

Kath Gower assistant secretary and child welfare officer at Haworth CC said: “We’re delighted that Sport England has approved funding to allow us to upgrade our pitch surface. We’re thrilled to bits that our application has been successful.

“The bottom half of our pitch is good, flat and drains quite well. But the top half is natural hillside and it’s solid clay underneath which holds the water.

“These improvements, along with the guarantee of protection for at least 25 years, means that this sports facility can now be enjoyed by our community for many years to come.

“We want to be a full part of our community and we don’t want to let people down.”

Meanwhile, Olicanian will use the money to increase the number of wickets at its Ilkley ground.

It will also improve drainage at a ground which skirts the River Wharfe and improve the playing surface in general. The grant is the largest ever received by the club and it follows a pattern of sustained improvements at the ground, including the reconstruction of the pavilion, nets and a digital scoreboard. And the work continues. In the last two weeks, 2,000 shrubs have been planted to create a new hedge around the perimeter of the club’s Denton Road ground.

Club secretary, Brent Armitage said he was delighted to receive a grant which, he believes, will allow the club to build a stronger future.

He said: “The club has been trying for several years to improve the quality of the cricket square and this grant will enable us to do this, producing an excellent standard of playing surface and also extending the number of wickets we have at our disposal.”

Sport England chairman Nick Bitel, said: “We know how valuable playing fields are to communities throughout the country, giving individuals and teams somewhere to get active and enjoy sport.

“This fund allows us to maintain and protect these spaces so that high quality sports pitches are available in the heart of communities.”