Apperley Cricket Club are thinking big both on and off the pitch.

They have enjoyed a great first half to their Gloucestershire League Division One campaign and the club’s success on the field is being matched by their plans off it.

That’s because the club want to extend their pavilion with the hope that work will begin at the end of next season in readiness for the start of the 2021 campaign.

In an ideal world the club would like to extend the pavilion and re-roof the whole of the pavilion at the same time.

That would cost in the region of £120,000 but chairman Anthony Wilkes admits that the work may have to be done in two stages with the re-roofing being done at a later date.

“We’ve raised about £20,000 to £30,000 and we’re looking for grant funding from organisations like the ECB,” said Wilkes. “If we were just to build the extension it would cost us £60,000 to £70,000.

“We may have to do that as stage one – it will be superb – and then do stage two, which would be the re-roofing, at a later date.

“The plan is to start digging holes at the end of next season, make it watertight and weatherproof for the winter and get it ready for the start of the 2021 season.”

And it’s work that Wilkes is convinced is desperately required.

“We’re outgrowing ourselves,” he said. “The clubhouse has become a hub for the village and the community. The extra room will allow us to comfortably hold 60 or 70 people.”

The go-ahead club have other ambitious plans in the pipeline as well.

“We’re looking at refurbishing the practice nets for next season,” said Wilkes. “That could cost £15,000 to £20,000. That would involve putting down permanent tarmac so we wouldn’t have to touch them again. It’s a lot easier to obtain a grant for that than a pavilion extension.”