ON May 28, Kilve Cricket Club will be unveiling its brand new scorebox and storage facility at the Kilve Beach Ground, which has been funded largely through a £22,000 grant from the Hinkley Point Community Impact Mitigation Fund. 

Chairman Peter Stone said: “We feel incredibly lucky to have benefitted from this grant.

"The old scorebox was sadly dilapidated, but we never imagined we’d have the financial opportunity to replace it.

"With this money from EDF, we’ve been able to build a facility that brings the club into the 21st century.”

The unveiling will take place at 1:30pm on Sunday 28th May with a local VIP being lined up to do the honours. 

A cricket match between Kilve and an Invitational XI will then take place and allow the club to christen its new scoreboard and, with the bar open all afternoon, visitors to the ground are most welcome.

Kilve Cricket Club was founded in 1860 and fields one team in the Somerset Cricket League and one in the West Somerset Cricket League, as well as turning out a mid-week LMS side at Minehead and a thriving junior section nicknamed the Kilve Cobras. 

First XI captain Chris James commented on the new build: “The whole club, from the 1st XI down to the youngest junior will benefit from this amazing scorebox and store. 

“The youngsters have a place to keep all of their training equipment, the ground staff are happy because they have got easy access to their machinery and the old men in the club will be able to see the score from the other side of the ground now too!”

2nd XI captain Crispin Taylor added: “We are so lucky to play our cricket in such a beautiful part of the world. Our ground is right on the Jurassic Coast with the sea on one side and the Quantock Hills on the other. 

“This new scorebox and store shed is really the icing on the cake for us.

"We are hopeful that the interest the opening will generate will bring an influx of new players - everyone is most welcome regardless of age or ability.” 

On the pitch, Kilve welcomed Wellington for a pre-season fixture and edged home by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter on Saturday, which was arranged via social media.

Having restricted the away side to 128-8, Kilve survived the loss of two early wickets as well as a late stumble to reach 129-7 and claim the victory.