A HOST of Yorkshire's England cricket stars were in Bradford this week to mark the opening of the first phase of the multi-million pound revamp of the city's famous Park Avenue cricket ground.

Test captain Joe Root cut the ribbon to officially open eight new artificial practice wickets and a community pavilion, part of an overall project to bring the ground back up to first-class standards by 2019.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club chief executive Mark Arthur has confirmed plans to host elite women's and disabled fixtures at the ground, alongside a return for Yorkshire first-team games for the first time since 1996.

Root, who thrilled local youngsters by signing autographs and posing for pictures alongside England colleagues Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, David Willey and Moeen Ali, said: "It's a great opportunity for people in Bradford to use these facilities and for guys to learn their trade and become better players.

"I would have absolutely loved something like this growing up. It's brilliant and hopefully this will encourage people to get into the sport.

"Hopefully we'll see another Adil Rashid emerge from Bradford and get some guys from Bradford into the Yorkshire set-up and the international arena."

Rashid himself reflected: "It's a big change from 15 to 20 years ago, when there wasn't much here. But to see Yorkshire, the ECB (England & Wales Cricket Board) and Bradford Council put so much investment into this, hopefully the young kids here can use the facilities and really showcase their skills and excel.

"There's a lot of talent in Bradford that hasn't really been seen – but hopefully the players and coaches can set themselves to come here, play competitive cricket and hopefully one day become professional cricketers."

Bradford-born Bairstow added: "The facilities are second to none. We're very fortunate to have a strong breed of cricket here in Yorkshire and there's no better place to bring it back to Bradford Park Avenue, where Yorkshire have had a lot of success over a period of time. It's going to be special."

On the prospect of Yorkshire games returning to the ground, Root said: "I've never played here, so I'd love the opportunity.

"If we can get cricket here, that would be fantastic, and I'm sure everyone would love to get the opportunity to play at Bradford Park Avenue."

Bairstow added: "As long as everything is up to standard, there's no reason why we can't. It's a process that has been ongoing for a while and it's something that everyone in Bradford is very passionate about."

Leg spinner Rashid said: "It's exciting times ahead and hopefully that can go through in a couple of years' time. I would be over the moon for that, you know, having a first-class fixture in Bradford as it's my home town."