POULSHOT Cricket Club have played their first match in almost 20 years following a huge campaign to get the grounds up and running again.

The cricket club, which can be traced back to 1855, disbanded in the 1990s due to population decline in the village but found its feet again when a group of enthusiasts put together a campaign to revive the old ground.

Now, after a long process of rebuilding, the club hosted its first official game against Avon Valley, in which it sadly went down by six wickets.

Club chairman, Declan Gaule, said: “A village wide canvas was conducted and a resounding 99% were unanimously in favour of the project.

“What started as wishful thinking over a couple of pints of ale in 2015 has now captured the imagination of an entire village.

“A small working committee was arranged and fund raising, begging, borrowing began in earnest and enough was raised to get the project off the ground.

“At a time where grassroots sport and community integration is being challenged this project has shown that where there is a will there is a way.”

As part of their fundraising campaign the club were awarded £2,500 by the Melksham Area Board.

The cricket club is affiliated with Wiltshire Cricket and will focus on non-league based fixtures for the 2016 season.

Chairman of Avon Valley Cricket Club, Simon Campbell, said: "We are quite new ourselves having only just started back in 2012 and with our first official season in 2013.

"Against a background of much less cricket being played we and Poulshot are fighting against the grain in an attempt to keep the game going.

"It is all about whether you have four or five people who are willing to put in the hours to keep it up.

"When it all works well and goes to plan it can be very rewarding and we wish them all the best. They seem like a nice bunch of guys."

The club is currently looking for new members of all ages and those interested should go to www.poulshot.play-cricket.com.