Tipton cricket club has been given hundreds of pounds after the pandemic left it with no income from match fees or sponsorship.

A total of £828 in National Lottery funding from England’s Community Emergency Fund has been given to the club to help towards the financial commitments it still has to meet.

The outbreak of the virus and the consequent shutdown of businesses as of March 23 has left the sport and physical activity sector facing a period of uncertainty.

In response, on March 31, Sport England announced a £195million package to help the sport and physical activity sector through Covid-19.

Within the package is a £20million Community Emergency Fund of National Lottery money to deliver immediate funding to those who have a role in supporting the nation to be active, but are experiencing short-term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.

The grant will allow Tipton St John Cricket Club to cover its rental and maintenance costs for the coming months.

David Birch, the club’s chairman, said: “This is a great relief – with virtually no income at present, our financial resources are very thin, but we still have rent to pay and equipment to maintain.

“This very welcome grant should see us through this difficult period.”

Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s chief executive, said: “As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity participation, we want the vital grassroots organisations that make sport and physical activity happen in this country to not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future.

“The £20m Community Emergency fund, made possible by National Lottery players, is part of a multimillion pound package of support we are providing to ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

“We are proud to be able to provide vital funding to Tipton St John Cricket Club to help it through these extremely challenging times.”