HARPENDEN Cricket Club embraced NatWest CricketForce 2008 last weekend when 30 club members and five staff members from the Harpenden branch of NatWest joined forces to prepare the club for the new season.

HARPENDEN Cricket Club embraced NatWest CricketForce 2008 last weekend when 30 club members and five staff members from the Harpenden branch of NatWest joined forces to prepare the club for the new season.

The first task was to paint the outside of the clubhouse, which despite the cold wind was achieved in record time by a willing band of colts led by Sue Bates and Mike Gibb. New white goods were installed in the kitchen which, thanks to the efforts of Sharon Brown, Guy Owen-Jones and Mark Fordham, now looks fit for a king.

The day's work finished around 6.30pm when those left standing retired for a well earned drink, leaving everything ready for the new season.

After an impressive start in the Home Counties Premier League in 2007, Harpenden are set up for an exciting summer ahead. Four of the club's top young prospects have returned from spending the winter in Australia and the club will again be backing youth as the way forward. Harpenden have entered a fifth team into the league and hope a mixture of youth and maturity will provide a winning blend.