Royston Cricket Club is celebrating its 225th anniversary and chairman David May is hopeful their upcoming ECB club Open Day can set them up for many more years to come.

The ECB Club Open Days initiative, supported by Waitrose, is a nationwide programme that aims to help boost grassroots cricket participation by encouraging clubs to open their pavilion doors and welcome guests from the local community for a day of cricket taster sessions and activities.

Royston will host their Open Day on June 28 and the event will be highlighted by a match against the Lord’s Taverner’s Buccaneers XI.

And May believes the day will be the perfect way to bring new faces into the club.

May said: “The idea is to make people more aware of the club because we’re just outside the town.

“It’s a good opportunity for people to realise that we’re here, we’ve got great facilities for the kids and we’re part of the community.

“We’re competitive but we also play to enjoy it – we’re not just here to win competitions.

“It’s about getting the word out about cricket and building up the club for however long we can keep going, hopefully for a few more milestones.

“We’re not a rich club but we are a very old club. We decided on the Buccaneers because they’re local players, so it’s a good opportunity.

“It’s our 225th anniversary, so we’re only three years younger than the MCC so that is a massive landmark for everyone involved at Royston Cricket Club.”

This summer more than a 1000 cricket clubs will host a club Open Day nationwide and enjoy a £100 food and drink offer from Waitrose to help deliver their event.

And former England captain, turned ECB Cricket Partnership Ambassador, Mike Gatting believes as many people as possible should head down to Royston when their doors are swung open, adamant it will help build a better future for English cricket.

Gatting said: “By opening their pavilion doors and showcasing what they have to offer to their local community, clubs will hopefully be able to inspire newcomers to come and join them.”

For more information about club Open Days, supported by Waitrose, including a full list of clubs registered, visit ecb.co.uk/clubopendays