SOUTHAMPTON sports fans are in for a treat with the arrival of the city’s first ever cricket festival.

The free event will be taking place on Sunday, July 28 and will be the biggest ever community celebration of cricket on the south coast.

Organised by Unity 101 Community Radio it will be held at the Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre on Thornhill Road and will run from 10am to late.

The one-day cricket tournament offers something for people of all ages with matches for adults, children and seniors.

As well as competitive sport there will be a selection of stalls and food provided by Sanjha Food and Catering.

While for youngsters, there will be an inflatable obstacle course, bouncy castle and a funfair.

Local residents are urged to get a cricket team together and “join the fun”.

Earlier in the summer, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is thought to have injected almost £20m million to Southampton’s economy.

Thousands of cricket lovers flocked to the Hampshire Bowl in West End were five tournament matches were played.

According to Southampton City Council, being a host city would provide up to £18.3m worth of economic benefits for Southampton and the local businesses.

The figure was taken from a report commissioned by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The report considered factors including ticket sales; match day spending on food, drink and merchandise; wider spending from international visitors in the hospitality, retail and transport sectors and the tourism and business legacy from the tournament’s global exposure. Unity 101 Community Radio is an Asian and ethnic radio station based in the heart of Southampton.

With a community focus, it claims to be “broadcast to the community, for the community, by the community”.

For more information call 02380235055.