Woodford Halse Cricket Club, which has two senior sides, successfully applied to the fund to buy a training net and rebound catching practice net to help boost player performance.

The club’s chairperson Richard Stevens said: “As a grassroots cricket club in South Northamptonshire, we’re fortunate to run two teams with players of various abilities and diverse backgrounds. Like many grassroots clubs, we run on a shoestring budget which means it is often difficult to get the right equipment to develop our players.

“Unfortunately, our volunteer base has diminished recently and we’re no longer able to run a junior section. The support from Gigaclear’s Rural Sports Club Fund has enabled us to buy much-needed equipment, such as a training net and rebound catching practice net.

“This will boost player development and enable us to become a more successful and thriving club. This in turn will hopefully give us more visibility within the community and attract more volunteers to grow our club and re-establish junior and women’s cricket.”