The recently re-formed Clutha Valley Cricket Club has given the Tuapeka Domain a serious makeover, turning what was more or less a paddock into its home ground.
There is a fresh strip of Astroturf in the middle and the outfield has been given a good roll. There are still a few bumps and lumps and the facilities are limited.
It is not the University Oval but it is home to the Valley Stingers and the team made a great beginning at the ground’s opening on Saturday, securing a bonus-point win over the previously unbeaten Kai Kings. It is also a major step forward for cricket in the region. Three years ago, the Clutha Valley Cricket Club was in hiatus and the Tuapeka Domain was covered in sheep manure.
"We re-formed last season," Stingers spinner Richard Ray said.
"It had been about 20 years since we had a local cricket team and this season we’ve put together a home ground."
The Clutha Valley Lions Club donated "a big chunk of money so we could get the Astroturf" and "a heap of local sponsors" chipped in with donations to "get it all together".
The club members provided the labour and have produced a "tidy wee ground".
Ray was one of the driving forces behind the project but said the community had got behind the idea.
"Hopefully improving the facilities will draw more people in," he said.
"It [the outfield] is a touch bumpy but no worse than any other ground. But it will flatten out with more use.
"There is an old scorer’s shed but it is not up to much. That’s [a pavilion] a plan for the future but it will take a fair bit to get a new players’ area up. There will just be a marquee in the meantime."
The Astroturf will take some time to settle down and the ball nipped around a bit. But there was good pace and bounce.
Ray said to register a win — Valley’s first in the 40-over competition — during the ground’s debut "made it all worth it".
"We had a reasonable turnout of spectators as well with loads of people coming down."
