Volunteers rolled up their sleeves to help give Bradford & Bingley’s ground at Wagon Lane a makeover as part of their centenary year.

Staff from the Bingley branch of NatWest were among those who donned overalls and wielded paint brushes as part of the 2010 NatWest CricketForce programme. They carried out a range of tasks designed to improve the venue, including painting fences and revamping the nets and sight screens.

As a result of their efforts, the bank donated £500 towards the club’s renovation through its Community Cashback Award scheme.

The CricketForce programme is a grass-roots initiative which aims to improve local cricket clubs across the country. It is run in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board and all participating clubs are ECB affiliated.

Over 1,500 clubs and an estimated 85,000 volunteers are taking part in this year’s initiative, making it a bigger volunteering programme than the Olympics.

Bradford & Bingley club president Peter Whitehead said: “NatWest CricketForce has given us a great opportunity to get some much-needed work done to ensure our 2010 season gets off to the best possible start.

“We would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to come along and help. Events like this make a real difference and lead to increased participation and a great sense of community spirit.”

Michelle Parker, the NatWest branch manager in Bingley, added: “Everyone worked really hard but also had fun during the course of the day.

“It is great to see the improvements made at Bradford & Bingley in such a short space of time.”