A WIRRAL cricket club has secured Olympic legacy cash from Sport England's Inspired Facilities Fund.

Irby Cricket Club will receive £45,876 of National Lottery funding to upgrade the facilities at its clubhouse, which has a thriving boys and girls junior section along with turning out four adult men’s teams every Saturday in the Cheshire County Cricket League.

The improvements will include upgrading the outdated changing rooms, improving the bar and function area along with modernising the kitchen facilities.

Sport England’s chairman Richard Lewis said: “This investment will create a lasting sporting legacy for Irby.

“This fund has really hit the mark with sports clubs in Merseyside. It shows we’re offering the legacy that people want for their local community.

"For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, 2012 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.”

Club chairman Ben Thomas said: “We are delighted to have secured this investment which means the ambitious plans we have for the club can really start to take shape.

“This money will mean we can expand our offering to the local community with quality facilities that match the quality of our cricket and coaching.

Wirral West MP Esther McVey said: “This is great news, particularly in Olympic year when many people are focussed on sport.

“This funding will allow Irby Cricket Club to provide much better facilities for the players, patrons and visiting teams and hopefully will allow the club to play a much bigger role in the community, and encourage young people to become involved in sporting activity.

“My thanks to all those involved in the club who put this bid together and to the Places People Play legacy programme for awarding this grant.”

Readers can follow the club’s progress both on and off the pitch on Twitter @IrbyCC or at www.irbycricketclub.co.uk/ The Inspired Facilities grants are part of the £135m Places People Play fund.