Cricket in County Durham is rising from the ashes with the opening of a new pavilion, replacing one destroyed by arsonists.

After six years of hard work, the new pavilion at Spennymoor Cricket Club was officially opened by town Mayor and councillor Ian Geldard.

He did the honours with club captain Cameron Dewey, chairman Mel Groves and secretary Alan Jones, and was joined by a host of players, officials, friends, family and members of Spennymoor Town Council to celebrate the momentous event.

The new venue replaces the original pavilion that was burnt to the ground in an arson attack in 2018.

Cllr Geldard said: “We were devastated when the fire destroyed the old pavilion. This club has a rich history and has been around since 1886.

"There was a brief moment when many people thought that losing the pavilion might be the end of it.

"However, our shared upset and anger turned to a steely determination to overcome the attack and rebuild, and rebuild we have thanks to a fantastic community effort.

“We met with then-MP Helen Goodman, who was supportive and linked us up in a meeting with the ECB and Sport England, both of which are committed to protecting grassroots cricket.

"The town council began the process to recover the insurance monies, a massive fundraising effort started and the project to create a new pavilion began.”

Over six years, the rebuild plan saw the creation of a new structure equipped with modern appliances, at a cost £220k.

The town council received £70,000 insurance on the older building, so had to find £150,000 to see the project to fruition.

A £107,000 grant from Sport England was secured, the club and community raised around £13,000 and Spennymoor Town Council contributed the remaining £30,000 to complete the fantastic community venue.

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The future of the cricket club is looking rosier, the venue helping attract the players required to develop a Seconds team and kickstart the youth programmes for the coming season, which will hopefully open-up the sport to youngsters and maybe attract a few players of the future. 

Mel added: “For the first time, we can explore the potential of developing girls and women's cricket.

"The space also lends itself to further community use through the week, and we look forward to welcoming other community groups to the ground and hope they can make use of the building.”

Due to the recent heavy rainfall, unfortunately, the out-field was too wet for a large opening event, but plans are progressing well for a full open-day celebration later in the summer for the whole community.

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The club has thanked Devere’s Barber Shop, its new front-of-shirt sponsor, and Namaste Spennymoor Indian Restaurant and Takeaway, another sponsor that has backed the club for many years.

Cllr Geldard added: “Having been involved with Spennymoor CC for many years, I was overwhelmed when in 2016, I was appointed Honorary President, volunteering at the club to bring their 'back-office' up to date and help develop for the future.

“The reopening of the pavilion was without any doubt a highlight of not only my year as town mayor but of all work I've done whilst serving Spennymoor over my last 11 years as a councillor.”