EUXTON Cricket Club's new pavilion at its Balshaw Park ground is to be unveiled at a special celebration match on Sunday.

The Manchester Association Premier Division club has spent the winter preparing the £80,000 facility in time for the new season, after years of fund raising.

With help from a number of local building firms, the work including completion of the club lounge and bar, changing rooms, umpires room, serving facilities, and gents, ladies and disabled toilets has now been finished in time for the first ball of the new season.

At the grand opening on Sunday, a host of events will take place at the ground, including a 'Lads and Dads' cricket match at 11am followed by a clash between a Chorley Select XI and a Manchester Association XI at 2.30pm, with a bouncy castle among the attractions for younger visitors

Malcolm Millward, Euxton CC chairman said: "When we bought this ground ten years ago it was nothing more than a farmer's field, but now after years of hard work and effort we've now got an excellent ground with impressive new facilities, and its something the village to be proud of.

"We've made great strides on the field too, moving from village cricket to Premier Division standard in a very short space of time, and we'd like the people of Euxton to be a part of our success.

"This is a community club which is open to everyone.

"We're particularly keen for children to become a part of the club, and we hope our new facilities will help entice more people along."