The Essex and Southend Sports Trust have continued their unbelievable support for cricket across the County, with a grant of £30,000.
The cheque presentation to the Essex Cricket in the Community took place during the final home match of the season against Worcestershire, which included Essex County Cricket Club Chairman, John Faragher, who was joined by EASST’s Peter Butler and Joe Simms.
The funds will be divided into four main focus areas with £10,000 dedicated to both developing the Essex Women’s programme, £10,000 to help maintain Garon Park as a sustainable venue for performance cricket, £5,000 towards the Junior Pathway and £5,000 towards the Girl’s Schools Coaching programme. This is part of a £90,000 three-year commitment created to benefit the growth of cricket in the county.
EASST has contributed over £750,000 to grassroots cricket in Essex over a last 15 years and this has continued earlier this year with the launch of the Small Grants Scheme for Cricket, which saw a £25,000 contribution aimed at developing cricket in Essex and East London.
EASST also contributed to the funding of the Allen Ford Group Graham Gooch Cricket Centre refurbishment, which will continue to help develop the next crop of talent through the Essex County Cricket Club Academy.
EASST Chairman, Peter Butler said: “EASST cricket programme in Essex and East London has really grown in 2018 and in total we have made grants of approaching £100,000 in support of community and recreational cricket in our area. The Small Grants Programme for Cricket is supporting essential purchases by several local cricket clubs and we have made a number of commitments towards clubs planning to rebuild or extend their cricket pavilions.’
Essex Cricket Chief Executive, Derek Bowden said, “EASST has been a long-standing supporter of Essex Cricket, especially with investment into grassroots projects across the county.
“It’s fantastic to see the positive impact these funds have on the development of cricket in Essex, especially as it benefits people of all ages, gender and background, which is a key objective shared across everything we do at Essex Cricket.
