FORMER England captain Mike Gatting is urging the community to lend a helping at Ealing Cricket Club this month. He says he’s loved every minute there.

The 14th annual NatWest CricketForce take place from March 27-29, with this year promising to be another blockbuster as more than 2,000 clubs take part.

Tens of thousands of members and volunteers will come together to clean, tidy, repair and revitalise clubhouses and cricket grounds across the country ahead of the new season.

It was back in 2013 that Gatting first rolled his sleeves up and got stuck in at Ealing, and the ECB Managing Director of Cricket Partnerships hopes volunteers will again be involved.

He said: “We get loads of reports, as the summer goes on, that clubs have a new lease of life, with new sponsors, volunteers and members. Players are happier as well and that was certainly the case for Ealing.

“They’ve got some very good net areas which they tidy up and get ready for use at the start of the season. They have one of those lovely old clubhouses which needs regular maintenance.

“The good thing is that a lot of their firs- team players have come through the junior section and are now part of the club.”

Gatting, a former England captain, added: “I hope we’re helping the communities as well as the clubs. Kids want to go to clubs and have fun with their mates in a safe area.

“In some places, the clubs can stop kids from being out on the street and doing drugs, being in gangs and other terrible things.

“Cricket is one of those games where you make friends for life, build bridges, and learn a lot of life skills as well.”

NatWest CricketForce is an ECB project helping cricket clubs renovate and improve their facilities before each season with the help of members and their wider communities.

Find out when your local club event is and lend a hand at ecb.co.uk/nwcf

Ealing bowler Anand Ashok has been named in the MCC squad on its first ever tour of Surinam and Panama.

Ashok and the rest of the MCC squad departed for Paramaribo, Surinam today (Thursday), before taking part in the fifth Central American Cricket Championships across both countries.

MCC will play Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, El Salvador and Peru as part of the tournament.

In between fixtures, the squad will also deliver coaching sessions to aspiring young cricketers in Surinam who don’t have access to quality equipment or tuition.