01/08/2018
Ravenscar Cricket Club has used a grant from the Sirius Minerals Foundation to purchase a specialist bowling machine.
The club are using the machine particularly for junior practice, allowing young cricketers to hone their batting skills, as the club seeks to rise up the league tables.
The cricket club currently has around 45 active members who play for its first and second teams in the local Beckett league, as well as an evening league team including a number of young people.
John Morrison, Chair of Ravenscar Cricket Club, said: “The club are very grateful to have received the funding to purchase this machine, which will sharpen specific skills through the repetition of the ball being bowled at a certain length, line and speed.” “The young boys and girls who attend training have to play with adults in the second team, which can be daunting”, he added. “They need practice in the nets to give them confidence and develop their wicket keeping and fielding skills, so the bowling machine will do this and encourage them to continue playing.”
The Sirius Minerals Foundation awarded the club £2224.95 as part of its first funding programme in late 2017 which saw grants totalling £300,000 awarded to 75 projects in Redcar and Cleveland and North Yorkshire.
Peter Woods, Trustee for the Sirius Minerals Foundation, who visited the club to bowl the first ball from the machine, said: “We’re delighted that the funds are helping to improve community facilities while encouraging boys and girls of all ages to participate in a much-loved sport in the area.”
The Foundation recently announced its next round of funding, which this year focuses on skills development in communities along the Yorkshire and Teesside coast. It is seeking applicants for grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 from organisations promoting skills projects.
Applications forms can be downloaded from www.siriusmineralsfoundation.co.uk and the closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on 3 September 2018.
The Woodsmith Foundation is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Charity number: 1163127
