A VILLAGE cricket club has been given £48,787 in National Lottery funding to upgrade facilities both on and off the pitch.

Lydeard St Lawrence Cricket Club has secured the grant from Sport England's Inspired Facilities Olympic legacy funding pot and will use the money to help complete the club's Quantock Vision project.

The improvements will include a complete upgrade of the pavilion, better changing and showering facilities and an artificial wicket to enable the club to host more games, youth and social events throughout the summer.

The project also includes improvements to the facilities to enable the Somerset Visually Impaired Cricket Club to use Lydeard St Lawrence as its home base.

To celebrate the award, local people are being invited to visit the club for an open day tomorrow (Saturday) to find out more about the Quantock Vision.

Club chairman, Hugh Lloyd-Jones, said: "We are delighted to have secured this investment, which means we can upgrade the quality of our premises to match the quality of all our teams.

"It is the cornerstone of our strategy to have an outstanding club for the 2012 Olympics' legacy."

Club captain Simon Cattell said his was thrilled with the news: "This means we can vastly improve all the facilities at the club and have a bright future as a result.

"I will be at the ground on Saturday (tomorrow) to speak to anyone who wants to know more about it - I will even be playing cricket as well!"

Adam White, chairman of the Somerset Visually Impaired Cricket Club said he was thrilled the club's grant application had been successful.

"The club has secured this much-needed funding and will now be able to make its ground and facilities more suitable for our players.

"We are a thriving countywide club satisfying a great need for visually impaired people, who have been keen to identify a local club that we can call 'home'," Mr White said.

Lydeard St Lawrence Cricket Club was one of more than 300 projects across England which received lottery cash in the latest round of funding.

Sport England's chairman, Nick Bitel, said: "A year on from the Olympics, this National Lottery investment is helping us deliver a lasting sporting legacy in Somerset.

"With investment now on offer from our Inspired Facilities Fund until 2017, we look forward to supporting many more sports clubs in the South West who play such a vital role in grassroots sport."

More information about the Quantock Vision is available from Mr Cattell by emailing [email protected]">[email protected].