HOWZAT?

Generosity of strangers can help save 170-year-old cricket club from having to draw stumps

- By DAVID HUMPHREYS Local Democracy Reporter

THE kindness of strangers is helping a 170-year-old Liverpool cricket club to secure its long-term future.

Earlier this year, after more than a century and a half, Wavertree Cricket Club faced uncertainty as the landlords of their home on Sandown Lane sought to make a change to the land.

The site has been maintained by volunteers since an agreement was set up with Wavertree Recreation Company in 1921 and the sale of 2,600 shares for £1 each. The club has paid rent to the company annually ever since.

Some shareholders are potentially open to the land being sold to a property development company, however, leaving the club with a dilemma over paying up or moving on.

To generate the £200,000 needed to secure a long-term lease, members have set up a fundraising drive.