Bowled over: Hull Zingari awarded £8,000 grant from city council
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES: Hull Zingari CC chairman Martin Watkin, left, with Hull City Council leader Mike Ross
By Simon Bristow
Hull Zingari Cricket Club’s ambitions to play at the top level of Yorkshire cricket have been given a boost thanks to support from Hull City Council.
The Chanterlands Avenue club has been awarded £8,095 from the Leader’s Contingency Budget.
The grant will be used to fund Zingari’s purchasing of new equipment, including sight screens and boundary ropes, as the current ones are no longer fit for purpose.
The club has four men’s teams, with its first XI playing in Championship East for 2023, the second tier of the Yorkshire Premier League North. It also has three junior teams.
Leader of Hull City Council, Councillor Mike Ross, said: “I am delighted to be able to award this grant from the Leader’s Contingency Budget.
“Hull Zingari is a club with a lot of history having played cricket in our city for over 100 years. To be able to help it continue its sustainability is fantastic for everyone involved.”
Hull Zingari CC relies on donations from sponsors, ex-presidents and members to cover operational costs, as well as hosting fundraising events, and said the grant was a timely boost.
Martin Watkin, the club’s chairman, said: “This funding is fantastic news for us as a club and is a great start to the year.
“The grant has helped us purchase essential equipment, which we have already ordered and hope to have delivered in March.
“We are also looking at new coloured kits for our junior section and I cannot thank Hull City Council and Councillor Ross enough for their generosity.”
Hull Zingari, an amalgamation of three Hull cricket clubs, recently passed its 125th anniversary. Hull YPI CC on Chanterlands Avenue amalgamated with Hull Cricket Club in 2007 at the YPI ground and, in 2016, merged with Hull Zingari CC.
The present club therefore represents about 350 years of cricket being played in Hull and hopes this latest investment will help to arrest a decline in participation in the sport, and realise its ambitions to play at the top level in the region.