Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

“There are many leagues in
Lancashire and they play a really
important part in bringing through
our next generation of cricketers”
old ground for the site of a new
superstore in the town, enabling the
club to build a brand new ground and
clubhouse costing £2 million, a far cry
from the £30.12s.5d they had to shell
out for a new ground in 1875!
The club employed the services of
Club Design Ltd. to design and project
manage the new facilities. The ground
construction work was awarded to John
Mallison (Ormskirk) Ltd. Work began
on building a twenty strip square and
large outfield in 2008, with the new
facilities officially opened in August
2009. The club also received input from
former Old Trafford groundsman, Pete
Marron, to oversee some of the work.
The ground is protected by a 6ft high
perimeter fence and, whilst an
expensive item in itself, was added to,
to the tune of £25,000, when Great
Crested Newts
were found on the site. The extra cost
was to comply with planning
regulations, conducting a survey and
building a ‘newt run’ to a nearby pond.
The club were also required to plant
over one hundred trees and various
hedges to soften the fence line. A
memorial garden was also constructed
to allow members to remember their
loved ones.
A two bay practice net was installed
at a cost of £25,000. Unfortunately, this
has already suffered some mindless
vandalism when a section of the
artificial carpet was cut away!
The club have also installed the
latest, advanced technology scoreboard,
which allows the scorer to upload
remotely from any part of the ground
or clubhouse - perfect if he fancies a
pint!
The club run three senior men’s sides
and provide a number of junior teams
from under 11s to under 18s. Total
membership hovers at
around 1,000,
Mike Watkinson, Director of Cricket, Lancashire CCC
providing an important social life for
the town. They also have a thriving
ladies rounders league, utilising some
spare ground away from the outfield.
The club run five teams using two
rounders courts. Matches are played
most evenings throughout the summer
months.
Westhoughton have appointed Gary
Dixon, a former player, as chairman.
Gary runs a tight ship, organising a
number of people to help run the club.
All the work is on a voluntary basis,
apart from the cricket coach,
groundsman and bar steward.
The club are keen to maximise the
earning potential of the new clubhouse
facilities. There are already over 150
bookings for weddings, corporate
business and birthday bashes. As Gary
points out, it is all well and good
having great facilities, but they must be
managed correctly to ensure the future
of the club.
The club has enlisted the services of
Paul Tatton as Head Groundsman to
oversee all the
maintenance works
required at the club.