A TEAM of dedicated caretakers saved the day when a cricket club's ride-on lawn mower broke down.

When Radcliffe Cricket Club's 10-year-old sit-on machine ground to a halt, it was a team of five men, known as the day crew, who came to the rescue.

For two months, the group of volunteers used hand-held lawn mowers to trim the club's five-acre plot — a feat which took more than 20 hours.

The club has now been lent a ride-on mower by Prestwich Cricket Club following an appeal on social media.

Radcliffe first-team captain Michael Farley said: "The mower we have is completely broken. The motor that powers the blades has been repaired a few times but it is now broken beyond repair.

"We have a team of fantastic guys who help the club out and volunteer their time. Without them, the club would not function.

"The guys were pushing these hand mowers for around two months, doing a section of the ground every week.

"One of the guys was using a hand mower for five hours and didn't even do one quarter of the ground.

"By the time they came back they were exhausted."

Cutting the grass once every fortnight is just one of the roles undertaken by the team, in addition to rolling the wicket and maintenance work.

After hearing about their plight via a Facebook post, Prestwich Cricket Club kindly donated their ride-on lawn mower to Radcliffe.

Mr Farley extended his thanks to chairman Brian Lorenzini. He said: "We are really thankful to the club who have leant this mower to us indefinitely until we can get one sorted. It has massively helped us out.

"We are just glad they have thrown us this rubber ring."