Former England captain and current ECB ambassador Mike Gatting was the guest of honour as the club officially opened the long awaited new community pavilion.

In his opening speech, Gatting said: “They would be very proud of this pavilion down at Canterbury and the people here should be so proud. Cricket is about fun and friendship and this is a great place for that.”

Local MP Rehman Chishti was also present and he praised the efforts the club has made over the years to finally achieve it’s ambition.

Fundraising goes on at the club as loans taken out need repaying but now the building is in place, income streams should benefit going forward.