A CRICKET team has been hit for six after receiving a four figure grant to power up its ground.

Rockliffe Park Cricket Club has installed its first ever permanent power supply at its Hurworth Place ground, which is being fuelled by 16 solar panels on its pavilion roof.

The ground didn’t have any power supply at all until 2013, and because making a connection from the main electricity grid to the new pavilion that it opened that year was too expensive, it has had to use a stand-alone generator instead for the last six years.

Most of the project cost have been met by a £5,000 grant from the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund.

Recent investments by the club in covers, additional sightscreens and a new electronic score box have allowed it to host representative Durham CCC games and to introduce Sunday cricket to the club.

Club chairman Richard Howell said: “The generator we’ve had to use for power has been somewhat unreliable as well as being far from ideal from an environmental point of view. We are fortunate to have a beautiful setting and the constant noise that it made somewhat detracted from the atmosphere around the ground.

“Putting the solar panels in place has already made a real difference on match days, when you can hear the birds singing around the ground rather than the constant drone of machinery. We also hope that by continuing to improve our facilities will help us increase participation across the community.

“As well as players and spectators enjoying access to reliable power, we hope these improved facilities will make the pavilion a more attractive option for other groups and that we will see more of them making use of what we have to offer, whether for cricket matches or other events.”

The Banks Group’s energy division, Banks Renewables, operates two onshore wind farms within a few miles of the Rockliffe Park ground – the Moor House wind farm near Sadberge and the Lambs Hill scheme near Stockton.

Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at the Banks Group, added: “The Rockliffe Park cricketers put a great deal of thought and effort into coming up with a plan for better meeting their energy needs and we’ve very pleased that we’ve been able to help them bring it to fruition."