Rutland 'setting an example' for women's cricket
Cricket coaches in the county say efforts are being made to make the sport more inclusive
Cricket coaches in Rutland say there's been a big push to make the sport more inclusive.
With both the men's and women's Ashes happening at the same time this year, boys and girls from across the county will be 'getting inspired' to pick up the bat.
That's according to Oakham Cricket Club first-team player and Loughborough Uni cricket coach, Rob Taylor.
He said there's a big appetite for the game locally for young people of all backgrounds, and clubs are setting an example by encouraging women and girls to take part:
'For boys and girls in our region, we've got a load of good cricket clubs in our area. The amount of cricket that's on the TV at the moment is massive, and that can only be inspiring for those kids that're watching.'
He added: 'We had our first women's softball festival at Oakham last weekend. That was a really good thing to see at the cricket club. It's the first time we've run soft ball for ladies, and there was a real mixture of ladies there and some young girls as well.'
'A lot of it comes down to the willingness of the clubs and the committees, and the willingness of the clubs to get these things off the ground. But, talking for Oakham, we set up a girls team over the winter and we've already got over 20 ladies signed up in our first summer.'