GREAT Harwood Cricket Club turned a £1,841 deficit into a profit of £1,350 for the year ended 31 October 2002.
And a mixed year on the field ended in success off it as the Jennings Ribblesdale League club raised most of the £7,000 they needed for emergency drainage repairs.
Members contributed more than £4,500 to an appeal launched at the end of the season after sports drainage experts were brought in to Cliffe Park.
And with a grant of £1,500 from Great Harwood Area Council received towards the fund, the repairs have been carried out 'without crippling the club's finances,' according to president Steve Pilling.
He added: "Work was forced upon us because problems with standing water had threatened the very future of the ground." Mr Pilling said that the members' response had been 'magnificent.'
Harwood CC's gross bar profits rose to £27,312 from £19,890 after a renegotiation with the brewery. Bar turnover was up from £45,080 to £54,012 but due to the new deal, cost of sales only rose from £25,190 to £26,700. Other income, including the drainage donations, was up from £11,038 to £13,820.
The major increase in expenditure was on grounds maintenance which cost £7,900 against £2,575 in 2001. Staff costs were up from £14,475 to £17,028.
Chairman Terry Case hoped that the First XI would show an improvement in 2003 with Gordon Simpson beginning a second spell as captain with Australian professional Andrew Crook joining.
He said: "With the work on the ground and some more refurbishment of the clubhouse the club is improving all the time. Let's hope this improvement is matched on the field as well."
