The fire that completely destroyed a pavilion has put the future of a historic Highland Perthshire cricket club in doubt.
One of the committee members of Breadalbane Cricket Club which uses the facilities at Victoria Park in Aberfeldy yesterday said the old wooden hut is now just a ”pile of ashes” following the blaze on Tuesday at 11.20pm.
Mark Bridgeman (47), junior coordinator at Breadalbane Cricket Club, told The Courier that committee members would now have to sit down and decide if players will continue to compete in the Strathmore and Perthshire Cricket Union Division 1.
He said: ”I only found about this incident this morning; the hut is now a pile of ashes. This could well be arson. There have been a lot of incidents with kids drinking and starting fires.
”The nearby tennis club has been broken into several times and been subject to attempted arson attempts.”
Mr Bridgeman said the wooden hut was understood to have been built after the Second World War and housed a lot of the Breadalbane Cricket Club’s equipment. As a result, the fire could have put the club’s future in doubt.
”The committee will have to decide whether to carry on in the league next year,” he added.
”We will still have the pitch at Victoria Park, but a lot of the club’s equipment, including that of the juniors, was stored in the club hut.
”The hut was sturdy, but now there is nothing left. We will probably have to discuss fundraising activities now.
”I would imagine we would want to play on. However, it would cost too much money to build a new clubhouse.”
A spokesperson for Tayside Fire and Rescue confirmed that the cricket pavilion was ”completely destroyed”.
She added that one appliance attended on Tuesday from Aberfeldy and that firefighters used two jets to put out the fire.
Some staff then returned yesterday to use hose reel jets on the area.
A spokesperson for Tayside Police said they are appealing for witnesses who were in the area at the time or soon after to contact Tayside Police by calling 0300 111 2222.
Breadalbane Cricket Club was formed in 1869. The club won the Strathmore Cricket Union Division 1 championship in 2008 and the Perthshire Cup in both 2007 and 2008.