Chipping Campden's new pavilion officially opened by former England and Middlesex cricketer Mike Gatting
FORMER England and Middlesex captain Mike Gatting was on hand to cut the ribbon on Chipping Campden’s new pavilion on Sunday.
A bumper crowd was in attendance at Station Road to see the 64-year-old officially open the pavilion during the lunch break between the club’s game against a select MCC XI. Also in attendance on the day were current and former players, and sponsors of the Gloucestershire County League club, as well as key financial supporters of the project, including the ECB.
It’s been a long time coming to have the new pavilion, ten years in fact, and chairman Richard Postins was delighted with how the whole day went, despite the not-so-perfect weather.
“Sunday was the perfect curtain-raiser for our new pavilion,” he said. “Mike spoke very movingly about the importance of cricket in the community.
“There was a fantastic game of cricket between the club and the MCC, and then afterwards, we had a band perform as the celebrations continued long into the night.
“It’s taken ten years to get the new pavilion built. We had lots of support from the ECB, we sold a quarter of our land to a developer to build houses, and our own fundraising efforts meant we finally had the money needed to proceed.
“The previous pavilion was installed in 1971, but it was only second-hand. It was a lovely, old thing, but after a 50-year stint it was looking tired and it was time for something new.”
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