Nat West CricketForce

Harrow St Mary's Cricket Club have been honoured as one of only three clubs nationally to be selected as a National Showcase club for the NatWest CricketForce 2010. CricketForce is an England and Wales Cricket Board volunteering initiative aimed atrejuvenating the nation’s cricketing facilities.

A host of England and county stars will join forces with over 1,500 clubs and an estimated 85,000 volunteers after signing-up to takepart in NatWest CricketForce. With enough volunteers involved to fill the Millennium Stadium it is the largest volunteer programme in British sport. CricketForce encourages cricket supporters, their friends and families to give something back to their local community cricket club by volunteering to undertake major renovations to clubhouses and grounds.The event will be covered extensively by Sky TV and takes place over the weekend of March 26, 27 and 28 2010 and will be opened by Harrow St Mary's at Old Millhillans on Friday, March 26th.

Harrow St Mary's launched the event at a packed Harrow Hotel, with Vinny Codrington, Middlesex CCC chief executive, ex-England and Middlesex star, Angus Fraser, now Middlesex managing director, and Alan Coleman, Middlesex Performance Manager, all in attendance. David Leighton, ECB Manager, who is the heartbeat of CricketForce, set the ball rolling with an inspiring presentation to the masses.

Fraser told the audience that he would ensure that the whole of the Middlesex CCC squad would be there at the launch of CricketForce. Andrew Strauss may don his gardening gloves and lead the pruning of hedgerows, whilst it is hoped that Adam Gilchristwill zip over from Oz early to take charge of the kitchen refurbishment and the great Sachin Tendulkar, should he sign for the Seaxe,is being lined up to be the genial host looking after the bar for the day.

As Saints open the event, there are likely to be more international stars around for a day which will prove momentous in the history and development of Harrow St Mary's and their new ground at Old Mills. HSM, who have one of the strongest colts sections in Middlesex featuring fourteen current county players, plan a total refurbishment of the main pavilion, a new scoreboard, brand new net facilities and an artificial track for the much vaunted colts section.

HSM left Harrow Recreation Ground after 125 years last summer. Whilst the "Rec" had been home for more than a century to the clubit was holding development of the club back with its inadequate facilities. Over the years many promising stars of the future have hadto move to other more "prestigious" clubs with better facilities to further their cricketing careers.

Club Secretary Lesley Brown adds "Moving from playing in a public park to play in our own secure and safe ground is a wonderful opportunity for our club to reward our players and members with the facilities that other clubs have always taken for granted. We welcome the local community to take this opportunity to also get involved."