Ground receives facelift

THE St Lawrence Ground will look better to the eye this spring courtesy of the efforts of an army of volunteers last weekend.

More than 100 volunteers were at the county ground to take part in the NatWest CricketForce 2009.

Andy Griffiths and Clair Gould led the project that saw Board members, staff, KCCC members, players and supporters join together to tackle some key pre-season jobs. This included cleaning all areas of the ground – including seats, stands and ground entrances – redecoration of the Leslie Ames hospitality boxes and general tidying of the ground in readiness for the start of the season in two weeks time.

It was especially good to see MCCPresident and former Kent and England spinner Derek Underwood join in the spruce up.

The team of helpers were also joined by James Tredwell and Lydia Greenway – the latter fresh from her ICCWorld Cup success with England armed with a cleaning brush to accompany her World Cup winners’ medal.

Commenting on the work undertaken, Chief Executive Paul Millman said:’A tremendous amount has been achieved and the ground looks much smarter for it. We are particularly pleased with the Hospitality Boxes and this will be welcomed by those who use the facility. Thanks to all those who helped – they really have made a big difference to The St Lawrence Ground for the start of the season.’

The event marked the start of two weeks of volunteering across the county – all designed to enhance the facilities in cricket clubs.

The picture shows, from left to right, Paul Millman, James Tredwell, Derek Underwood and Lydia Greenway.