Scarborough Cricket Club chairman Bill Mustoe says fans will get a pleasant surprise when they walk through the gates of North Marine Road for Yorkshire’s four matches later this summer.

The county’s premier out-ground has been given a welcome cash injection, believed to be in the region of £2 million, following a chance visit from a high-profile executive of supermarket chain Tesco.

Kevin Grace, a main board member at the retail giant, offered help following a good deed from the club for his mother, who was a Yorkshire member.

Mustoe explained: “Kevin’s mum was a Yorkshire member, but she was unfortunately invalided. We knew her well.

“We put a wheelchair ramp in front of the pavilion because she asked if we would do.

“Then Kevin just came along and said ‘I think I might be able to help you’.

“He said they might be interested in putting a roof on the Popular Bank toilet, and it grew from that in a very short space of time to a major project involving a number of their key partners.

“It started originally with NatWest Cricket Force last year and the volunteers coming on board, then Welcome to Yorkshire got involved too. They were a great catalyst for change. We got some money from them, which was terrific.

“We then had that major, major breakthrough when Tesco decided we’d be one of their community projects.

“We ended up being their biggest community project in the country, and they brought along eight or nine of their contractors and partners, who all contributed to a major facelift for the ground.

“We averaged about 80 workers on the cricket site from January through to March, and at one stage we upped that to 150.

“They were all doing different projects from toilets to buildings to seating to general renovation. It’s been absolutely fantastic.”

The list of improvements at the venue, which first hosted county cricket in 1879 and saw Yorkshire clinch the County Championship title there in 2001, is a long one.

Mustoe continued: “I’ve never seen it looking better from the stands, to the facilities through to the playing surface.”

Scarborough is due to host two Championship matches and two limited-overs clashes this summer – the first being a maiden Friends Life t20 clash against Durham on Sunday, July 10.

A Championship match against Worcestershire starts a day later before Sussex are the visitors for the Festival, starting with a Championship match on Wednesday, August 17, and then a Clydesdale Bank 40 match on the Sunday.

Added Mustoe: “We’ve got a ten-year staging agreement, which is great news for Yorkshire supporters and for the club and town.”

First-class umpire Jeff Evans is a Scarborough committee member, while former Yorkshire captain David Byas is the club’s new cricket manager.