Beddington Cricket Club is celebrating the success of its youth girls team, two years after it was first formed.

The club, established in 1863, runs six adult teams on a Saturday, as well as a Sunday team and its ever-growing colts’ section, from ages 4 to 17.

Colts manager Lou Miller said she came up with the idea after seeing sisters of boys who were at training just “sitting around”, and wanted to get the girls involved with the game as well and join in as part of a team.

“I wanted to involve the girls and develop their passion for cricket and sport in general,” she said.

“At first, no one wanted to play, but gradually, with the fun games played and the fantastic coaching from the club, gradually more girls took part.

“It’s a joy to see so many girls playing and being so excited. It also gives all the girls another group of friends away from school – like a second family. I’m very proud of my Beddington 'Lionesses' and can only hope that we can encourage more young ladies to play."

Over the past two seasons, the girls’ numbers have grown, and they all look forward to the training sessions on Friday evenings.

One of the team members, Charlotte, said: "I think it’s amazing that girls have an opportunity to play cricket. If it had been mixed boys and girls, I would never have tried it. It has made me realise that I can try new things and now have a new-found confidence – especially when I bowl out the boys in the nets.”

The girls train at the same time as the tots (Under 4 - Under 8) at 5.30pm on a Friday and the session finishes just before training for the Under 9’s to Under 16’s from 6.40pm.

Chairman of the club, Andrew Tibble said: "There are so many opportunities nowadays for girls to progress in playing and coaching cricket. The club is a welcoming and friendly environment for juniors and their parents - where better to enjoy being outdoors?"

If you are interested in getting your child involved with cricket, you can contact beddingtoncolts@hotmail.co.uk