Cricket to resume after vandals stopped play

Two wickets were ripped up in separate raids within 48 hours in June

Cricket is set to return to Preston's Moor Park later this summer a year after vandals stopped play.

Two wickets at the site were ripped up in separate night-time raids within 48 hours in June 2024.

Preston City Council has now secured a £36,000 grant from the English Cricket Board (ECB) to replace the popular facilities along with the wicket at Haslam Park, which has reached the end of its life.

The conditions of the funding mean the work has to be completed by July but it is not yet clear when matches at Moor Park will be able to restart.

One of the new wickets at the park can be booked by cricket clubs, while the other will be "for recreational community use only".

Moor Park is Preston's oldest park and is on the edge of the city centre

A report to go to Preston City Council states that "to manage demand, the leisure development officer will coordinate with cricket clubs to deliver a system whereby both clubs and the community can have a fair and equitable opportunity to use the wickets".

"It is the aim that this altered approach to regulate use of the wickets will help to mitigate the risk of vandalism in the future," the report adds.

There has been a surge in demand for cricket on Moor Park over the past two years.

The new wickets are expected to have a lifespan of 10 years and will be installed by Total-Play Limited - the only ECB-approved contractor to bid for the work.

Cabinet members are set to agree to accept the ECB funds at a meeting on Wednesday.