Belhus Cricket Club has already started to enjoy its inaugural season in the Shepherd Neame League.

After a winter of hard work at the North Stifford ground, Belhus await the start of the new season with a real sense of anticipation.

While the promotion into Essex’s revered league was a coop in itself, the club has matched all the league’s specifications, and more, as it strives to develop its facilities.

The club’s hardcore band of members, who single-handedly put together the stand-out features of the ground, are now celebrating a hard winter’s work.

Richard Day, Belhus first-team captain, said: “We’ve put the building blocks in place for the future.

“What we’ve done is a great start and something that everyone here is proud of.

“While we know we’ve done well, we can’t afford to stand still. We need to carry on moving forward.”

New sightscreens, a state-of-the-art electronic score box, tea marquee, roll-on covers and a restructured pavilion have been put together, with the help of a number of generous sponsors.

ES Veolia Cleanaway Mardyke Trust provided the bulk of the backing, donating £7,000 to the club.

Ever willing to promote sports teams in the area since its inception in 1997, the Mardyke Trust has pledged over £3m to teams and local institutions.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation also made Belhus’s evolution possible, with a generous £2,700 contribution to the club over the winter months.

The club wants to develop further still, with architects’ plans in place to near-on double the size of the pavilion.