Leicestershire players join the Force

Leicestershire's South African spinner will unveil new nets at Ashby Hastings

Leicestershire players are preparing to give cricket’s grassroots a welcome boost ahead of the new season.

As part of part of NatWest CricketForce, Leicestershire players will join volunteers at Ashby Hastings cricket club and Earl Shilton CC this weekend as they clean, paint and repair facilities.

Earl Shilton are revamping their facilities to encourage participation, particularly for women and girls.

Leicestershire's South African spinner Claude Henderson will be on hand to open new nets, funded by the ECB, at Ashby Hastings at 12pm on Saturday.

The Leicestershire players, working in groups of four, will rotate between the different projects as they support the nationwide event.

The 2010 NatWest CricketForce will be the biggest in the project’s nine-year history with more than 1,500 clubs taking part and an estimated 85,000 volunteers: a bigger volunteering programme than the Olympics.