Lancs lads pitch in

FOUR Lancashire players swapped bats and balls for paint brushes and drills to help Austerlands Cricket Club prepare for the new Saddleworth and District League season.

All-rounder Kyle Hogg, from Greenfield, and England bowler Sajid Mahmood joined members for a spot of sprucing up at the Thorpe Lane ground.

Hogg and Mahmood were assisted by Lancashire team-mates Stephen Parry, who is Bamford Fieldhouse’s professional this season, and ex-Heywood bowler Steven Cheetham.

Austerlands captain Kevin Du Feu said: “It was a very good day and everyone mucked in.

“The four lads from Lancashire didn’t come dressed for painting — they were all wearing county tracksuits — but we still gave them some brushes.

“The work that needed doing got done and now it’s all systems go for the new season.”

The quartet were at Austerlands as part of NatWest CricketForce 2009, which is a scheme where clubs up and down England and Wales recruit volunteers to repair and make-good facilities.

Lancashire lent a hand by sending groups of players to three grounds in the county. The other clubs to benefit were Thornton Cleveleys and Preston.