A cricket team without a home is behind a bid to bring the sport back to Marsh Park in Cowley, Oxford.

Although large numbers of people use the area to practise, the cricket pitch was closed by Oxford City Council last year for safety reasons.

Saj Rana, captain of RT Harris Cricket Club, now wants to see a pitch re-established at the park.

And he has said his team would be willing to help with its upkeep.

Mr Rana, who somewhat ironically lives in Cricket Road, said: "We have a lot of local Asians and other people who want to play cricket.

"We play all games away because we don't have a pitch.

"Having a pitch at Marsh Park would give the youngsters a home ground.

"And it would mean we could play twice as many games."

Marsh Park is one of the venues that has been discussed as a possible location for a city skatepark.

However, at the moment the park is devoid of any real sporting activity.

Mr Rana's nephew, Shazad Rana, 24, of Westfield Close, plays cricket for Kidlington Cricket Club and is one of a group of people who practises at the park on a regular basis.

He said: "Unfortunately, you cannot really use it for matches because it is not safe enough.

"But there are plenty of guys who come up and practise there.

"It is a shame they have not been able to maintain it, but you still get up to 20 people having a knock-around.

"It would make a massive difference if we put a pitch back on there.

"People would be able to hire out the facility and use it for games, for summer events, even for cricket tournaments."

A spokesman for Oxford City Council said: "The cricket pitch at Cowley Marsh park was closed during last season.

"Unfortunately we had to close it as we were preparing the pitch for teams on Friday and it was being used over the weekend by casual users.

"This meant the pitch was getting damaged and was dangerous for cricket players.

"We have opened up another cricket pitch at Horspath Road Athletics Ground.

"And we will have two squares available for users at this ground for the next season."

The council's area committee has called for a full discussion on leisure and parks facilities in the Cowley area, including the future use of Marsh Park.