Sports Minister Visits Dundrum Cricket Club

In total 130 sporting clubs and organisations across Northern Ireland have received similar grant assistance through this £2.1 million funding programme. [caption id="attachment_21993" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="On the wicket. Sports Minister Nelson McCausland, right, on his visit to Dundrum Cricket Club pictured with Sport NI Director Nick Harkness, Jim Wells DUP MLA for South Down, and Stephen Maxwell, Chairman of Dundrum Cricket Club."][/caption] The club has a considering following of junior players who train regularly over the summer months, but it is not possible for them to train on the square becasue of wear and tear, so a temporary synthetic surface has been set up for their use. The Sports Minister looked over the synthetic pitch and even tried his hand at the game of cricket. Jeff Maquire of Dundrum Cricket Club said, “We are delighted to welcome the Minister here today. The grounds are jsut getting into shape for the summer season. “It has been a long and difficult winter and some areas are still very spongy. The club is located basically on a flood plain and is subject to occasional flooding but recovers well. We always manage to get the grounds back into a playable shape again. But it does require a lsignificant lot of effort and a cost in equipment.”]]>