A CRICKET club ground has re-opened following of repairs after it was declared 'unsafe'.

Mudeford Cricket Club held a grand reopening of its recreational ground on April 27 after it underwent £50,000 of work funded by the Christchurch Town Council.  

Considered 'unsafe to use' by Hampshire Cricket League, the ground was dug up and special grass planted to ensure the best ground possible. 

MCC Club Secretary, David Vines, 48, said: "For the last 20 years we've been up against pressures from the leagues because of the conditions of the outfield. 

"Two of the last four years the team has been denied promotion because of the condition of it.

"They took up the entire area of the outfield, levelled it, and then re-seeded it. They had to use a specialist type of grass because the conditions are not great for it."

David said that Christchurch Town Council's support was imperative to its survival as it was keen to keep sport in the area after it had seen a series of cutbacks. 

Both MCC and CTC have worked closely across two years to improve ground which is now beginning to be used and considered of high quality. 

David said: "The new outfield was a big selling point last year. A couple of people came down, looked at us, and went, I'm not playing there. 

"This year, people have come from other clubs and said 'yep, this year we're going to play for you'.

Alongside the first men's team, MCC has announced it has created its first women's team in its 180-year history. 

Formed this winter, the women's team played their first game on the pitch this Saturday at the re-opening. 

David said: "Due to the conditions, we couldn't have the men's game which we planned as the actual square itself was waterlogged. 

"We had 21 juniors taking part in games in the morning and then after that we had our first outdoors women's game."

Just in time for summer, David hopes the new ground will attract more people to join the sport. 

The MCC will use the new pitch for the first time on May 14.