Clubmark, which was developed in 2002 by Sport England, is a set of national standards for the governing bodies of sport to adopt, and for their affiliated clubs to meet. The accreditation recognises the achievements of sports clubs who provide high-quality and welcoming environments for young people, and in developing their talents. Clubs also have to prove they have a safe and child-friendly environment.

Only around 20 clubs in Sussex have achieved Clubmark, and Dunn said: "It was a lot of hard work by the whole committee to get it, but it will be well worthwhile.

"It demonstrates that we have the correct framework in place, along with all the correct policies and procedures to run junior cricket. It will also open up valuable funding opportunities, which haven't been available to us.

"Improving facilities and coaching are our main focus areas. We have plans to completely re-develop our outdoor net area, install an artificial pitch on one of our squares, and buy a bowling machine.

"We also want to increase the number of junior teams. For this, we'll need more qualified coaches and need to run more coaching sessions.

This all costs money but with Clubmark and the backing of our new main sponsor, Allfield's Finan-cial Services, we can achieve it.

"I hope it also shows to the area that we are deadly serious about our plans to be a force in Sussex Premier League Cricket in the near future. And to be the club that any up-and-coming junior or top player will want to be a part of."

Current Worthing first-team players, former Sussex and Hampshire professional, captain Dominic Clapp, Casey Lee, Ollie Rogers and Alex Harris all came through Worthing's junior system, and Dunn said: "In our junior section, we've got more than 100 members, two of whom played at full county level last season – Mason Crane at Under-11, and Nick Oxley at Under-10.

"We also put 30 juniors forward for Area trials, and a dozen of those have made it through to the West Area squads, so let's hope we can get a couple more through to full County.

"We currently have one of the largest junior sections. We had six junior sides last year, and will run eight next year – half of them playing in the top level leagues – a far cry from a few seasons ago when we ran just three teams, all playing at the lowest level."

Worthing also hope to get a fifth senior Saturday team running, made up mainly of Under-16s and young players, and Dunn said: "The whole club is moving forward. We don't have the money to buy ourselves success, so need to develop our own and try to bring a steady stream of juniors through to senior level. Our best players are aged around 13 and 14 at the moment, and could be playing first-team cricket in two-to-three years.

"I've been at this club for 28 years now and during that time I've seen a lot of quality cricketers come and go.

"Worthing has had brief periods of success on the field but, now, I want a structure that ensures that success is sustainable on the playing side at all levels, not just 1st XI, and that we have a good, solid financial footing on which to base it".

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Email the Herald: steve.bailey@worthingherald.co.uk