Rising like a phoenix

Having recently received $5000 from Cricket Victoria’s Strategic Grants Fund, the club is looking to upgrade its training nets in an attempt to make itself more appealing to junior cricketers.

“The current facilities are lacking appeal to budding juniors,” Ultima Tyntynder President Andrew Abbott said.

“If we can set up something that’s highly regarded in the area then it’s going to be easier to recruit players.”

For the first time in 15 years, the Ultima TUF Cricket Club fielded an under-12s team last season which encompassed nine players that had never played cricket.

The club is hoping to continue this trend with the help of new nets, aiming to field an under-14s team for the season ahead.

Two of the nets at the Alan Garden Memorial Reserve will be upgraded, with a third net being added to allow for juniors and seniors to train on the same night.

The new nets will have nylon netting, a new synthetic surface and a surrounding security fence.

A brand new concrete slab will also be placed with the nets to improve the longevity of training balls.

“We want to encourage people to both stay and join the club,” Abbott said.

“If these nets can help us do this and if we can get an under-14s team for this season then its going to be fantastic.”

The nets will be complete by the end of this month, allowing Ultima TUF to train on them prior to the beginning of the 2013-14 season.