SEVEN years after they were turfed out of their Boroughbridge Road base, Civil Service Cricket Club now feel they have a place to call home.

The York & District Senior League club struggled for survival in the aftermath of an acrimonious departure from their much-loved traditional headquarters.

But, now firmly ensconced at the Outgang in Heslington, chairman Simon Desborough finally believes the club can look forward to a bright future.

“We left the Boroughbridge Road site back in 2003,” he said. “We were forced to move from there and we were the last sporting club to leave.

“We were offered the chance to play at the Outgang. There was a chance we could try to set up in other areas, but we want to keep going where we are.”

The current disused and overgrown state of the Boroughbridge Road site still rankles with the hundreds of sportsmen and women who played football, cricket, tennis and netball there.

Desborough, who took over from long-serving chairman Denis Wray two seasons ago, said: “It is frustrating when you see the Boroughbridge Road site still empty.

“A lot of people who played cricket for us moved to different clubs because of it. We lost a lot of good players, but we want to survive as a club, and try to keep going as best we can. It costs us £6,000 a year to keep going and we have to raise that money ourselves through membership.”

Civil Service field two teams in the York Senior League, with the firsts having won promotion from division 5A last season while the seconds finished mid-table in division 5B.

Desborough has plans to expand the club and attract more junior players. At the age of 38, he is one of the county’s youngest chairmen – and he is in it for the long haul.

He said: “I contacted the Yorkshire Cricket Board and, at 38, I am just about the youngest chairman in Yorkshire.

“I got voted in at the beginning of last season because nobody else wanted to do it.

“It is a bit of responsibility, but it is all about getting everybody together, keeping interest going and getting the club into a position where there is a good future.”

Desborough’s immediate goal is to find a new groundsman for 2011 to replace Wray, who has stepped down.

“Denis has been fantastic and done a brilliant job for us over the years but felt he had come to the end in what he could offer us,” said the chairman.

“It is hard to find a groundsman these days. Traditionally, clubs find a retired player who would do it for the love of it, but finding someone like that is difficult.

“There are eight pitches at the Outgang, so it is a fairly big square. We are looking for someone with a bit of experience in preparing pitches and would be able to pay a small amount to cover costs.”

Anyone interested in offering their services as groundsman, or who is interested in playing for Civil Service, should phone Desborough on 07799 124280.