GIRLS from Valley End Cricket Club threw themselves into a coaching session with a former England star last week.

Lydia Greenway, an Ashes and World Cup-winning bat, guided her enthusiastic audience through the skills she had polished in 14 Test matches and more than a hundred one-day internationals  during a 13-year England career.

“It was a terrific evening and fabulous to promote the women’s game,” said Andrew Monk, director of cricket at Valley End.

“We now have 60 girl cricketers in our club across three teams, it’s very much a growth area.

“We were so pleased Lydia came along because she’s such a fantastic role model. We wanted to give the girls someone they could look up to and see how their own skills could progress, how they could have a future in the game.

“And they were familiar with Lydia as a cricket commentator from her television work.”

The coaching session lasted 45 minutes, with a break for pizza leading into a question and answer session hosted by Lydia and Andrew.

Lydia is not the only England legend to have visited Valley End recently: the former captain David Gower, who is now a commentator, was guest of honour at the opening of the new pavilion last August.

For more information on the club, visit valleyend.play-cricket.com.

For more pictures of the event, get the 20 May edition of the News & Mail