Cricket to return to Moor Park a year after night-time vandalism ripped up wickets

Cricket is to make a return to Preston’s Moor Park later this summer – a year after vandals stopped play.

The two wickets at the site were ripped up in separate night-time raids within the space of 48 hours of each other last June.

Preston City Council has now secured a £36,000 grant from the English Cricket Board (ECB) to replace the popular facilities – along with the wicket at Haslam Park which has reached the end of its life.

It is understood the conditions of the funding mean the work has to be completed by July. However, the start date for the project depends on the availability of the contractor that will deliver it – meaning it is not known exactly when matches at Moor Park will be able to restart.

New booking arrangements will also be implemented there, according to a report to be presented to city council cabinet members next week. One of the new Moor Park wickets will be bookable by cricket clubs, while the other will be “for recreational community use only”.

The report appears to imply that disquiet over domination of the facilities by clubs may have lain behind last year’s vandalism.

“To manage demand the Leisure Development Officer will coordinate with cricket clubs to deliver a system whereby both clubs and the community can have a fair and equitable opportunity to use the wickets,” the document reads.

“It is the aim that this altered approach to regulate use of the wickets will help to mitigate the risk of vandalism in the future.”

There has been a surge in demand for cricket on Moor Park over the last two years, with the green space having long hosted tournaments and provided a place for informal play.

The new wickets are expected to have a lifespan of 10 years and will be installed by Total-Play Limited, the only ECB-approved contractor to bid for the work.

Cabinet members are set to agree to accept the ECB cash at a meeting on Wednesday.

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