Amateur cricket clubs encouraged to apply for Sport England grants to cope with recent flooding

A statement updated on the body's website in November declared that "available funding will be focused on those areas most badly affected"

Amateur cricket clubs affected by recent flooding are encouraged to apply to Sport England's Small Grants Programme, the organisation has confirmed to The Cricketer.

A statement updated on the body's website in November declared that "available funding will be focused on those areas most badly affected".

It also stated that priority would be given to sports that "need to return quickly", with "spring and summer sports, or where activity is not scheduled to take place for several weeks…a lower priority".

But that is not to rule out financial assistance, with decisions around funding bids focused on the damage caused and the subsequent need for help in order to aid participation.

^{New Road is once again underwater (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)}

Several clubs have taken to social media in recent days to display the damage done by recent rainfall, sustained high river levels, wind and flooding.

Sileby Town in Leicestershire posted four photographs to X, formerly known as Twitter, showing a completely flooded outfield, water damage to the carpet and sofas in the clubhouse, nets saturated and mowers in the maintenance shed sitting in water.

They have been shampooing the carpets and have called around for dehumidifiers in an attempt to clear the water from the clubhouse, which is raised above ground level but was powerless once the River Soar reached record levels of 2.49 metres on Monday. It's previous highest came in 1998, at 2.25m.

🚨Bad news for Sileby Town CC🚨

Unfortunately the relentless rain and flooding that we all have seen over the past few months has meant that for the first time ever our clubhouse has been breached by the flood water! Damage has been done to the clubhouse, nets & maintenance shed pic.twitter.com/ucO62NEQ2k

— Sileby Town CC (@silebytown) January 3, 2024

The Small Grants Programme specifically doesn't fund costs around loss of stock, damaged equipment or loss of income, but it exists essentially to plug holes and put a stop to the damage.

Examples stated on the Sport England website include skip hire to remove sediment and rubbish, minor electrical works to restore power, decontamination works or clearing of blocked drains, cleaning work to get showers and changing rooms back up and running, and securing buildings.

^{Tewkesbury Cricket Club (as in the main photo above the article) is one of many amateur clubs struggling (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)}

A birds-eye view photograph of Bewdley Cricket Club showed the entire ground underwater, as well as the net facility, with the River Severn not far beyond the boundary edge.

Bewdley is a town in Worcestershire, and the county ground – not for the first time – has felt the effects.

New Road hasn't been clear of water since October. How long it will take to fully clear depends on several factors, including how dirty and fast-moving the flood is. "We won't know how long until it's gone," a source told The Cricketer. "But we're so well prepared for it now that, to be honest, it's water off a duck's back, to be honest."

Beyond Worcester, the Oxford Mail published a picture of a submerged Swinbrook Cricket Club.

To enquire about Small Grants funding, head to www.sportengland.org/contact-us