Imperial cricketers get new nets at Johnstone Park
As the 2026-27 Murray Towns cricket season draws close, one club has had a facilities upgrade.
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The next generation of Imperial cricketers will have an easier time getting into the game this summer thanks to an upgrade at their home ground.
Three new nets were recently installed at Johnstone Park, in Murray Bridge, at a cost of $147,000.
President Wayne Gilgen said the project had been on the Imperial Cricket Club’s radar for a long time.
The club’s player base skewed younger and would benefit from the extra net sessions.
“We’re going to be able to develop juniors better now because … we can actually get all the juniors down here now together, rather than higgledy-piggledy,” he said.
“There’s nothing better than having good facilities to have kids come along.
“Hopefully we can get some good cricketers out of them.”
The old nets had been smaller, he said, which had kept kids from training in close-in fielding positions.
Recreation, Sport and Racing Minister Rhiannon Pearce said the state government had been proud to support the project with a $67,000 grant from the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing’s Community Recreation and Sport Facilities Program.
“Sporting clubs are at the heart of regional communities, bringing people together and creating opportunities for people of all ages to connect, compete and be active,” she said in a statement.
“This investment has provided the Imperial Cricket Club and the wider cricket community a facility they can be proud of, while helping create a strong foundation for the future of cricket in Murray Bridge and the surrounding region.”
Murray Bridge Mayor Wayne Thorley said modern, fit-for-purpose sporting facilities were important to a growing community, and to the wellbeing of its people.
He noted the ongoing need for a new public toilet near the nets and netball courts at Johnstone Park, too, after a previous block was knocked down to make way for a third netball court last year.
A consultation about public toilets had just wound up, and Mr Thorley hoped the council would have more information for Imps’ netballers and cricketers “this year”.
After the state government grant, the rest of the nets project’s cost was met by the Murray Bridge council; Cricket Australia’s Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund, administered by the South Australian Cricket Association; and the club, which chipped in $5000.
