England cricket legend Lydia Greenway has today announced the launch of her newest project, the Girls Cricket Club, a trailblazing platform to accelerate the growth of female cricket around the world through the sharing of knowledge, resources and opportunities.

The announcement comes in time for Women’s Big Cricket Month, an ECB initiative in June to give more women and girls the opportunity to experience cricket, and the inaugural Hundred tournament in July which will see men’s and women’s competitions run alongside each other and headlined with a women’s match in a historic moment for gender equality in the sport.

The Girls Cricket Club will complement Greenway’s successful Cricket for Girls, which will continue to focus on building successful girls cricket programmes in schools and clubs by developing the teachers and coaches, whilst the new platform will focus on the players. The Girls Cricket Club aims to connect female cricketers around the world, serve as an independent voice for girls and women within cricket and to provide female-specific resources to girls and women of all ages and backgrounds.

Greenway is also soon to announce an exciting new concept as a product of the Girls Cricket Club which aims to uncover the world’s next best female cricket all-rounder in a showcase of athleticism and skill within the women’s game. Details will be announced at a launch event in June at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.

With 225 appearances for England, including a World T20 and World Cup victory in 2009 and five Ashes series’, Greenway is one of the best female cricketers to have played the game and was among the first to pioneer professional cricket for women earning a coveted central contract with the ECB in 2014. Greenway says she is driven to reach girls both with a passion for cricket, as well as those who may not otherwise be exposed to cricket and to provide them with equal opportunities to play the game.

“Ultimately we want girls to feel a sense of belonging within cricket and to promote the message that cricket is equally as much female as it is male. We’re creating opportunities for girls of all backgrounds to fall in love with the game and to benefit from sport – whether that’s going on to play at the highest level or to make amazing friends, develop confidence, leadership skills and find a community. Our ethos is progression, not perfection and that applies both on and off the pitch. It’s about harnessing the power of sport to achieve in all aspects of life,” says Greenway.

A 13-year veteran of the game, Greenway has recruited 16 influential women in cricket to join the Girls Cricket Club Advisory Board, including international players, coaches and officials from the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Brazil. The Advisory Board will input on the club’s strategy and direction as well as participating in girls’ cricket camps and serving as spokespeople on issues impacting the women’s game. The Advisory Board is comprised of; Hannah Thompson, Roberta Moretti Avery, Emily Drumm, Ciara Metcalfe, Jenny Gunn, Jo Hackett, Tash Farrant, Carla Rudd, Hannah Jelfs, Jenna Searls, Sangy Thievendra, Fran Hide, Sue Strachan, Emily Starr, Kristy Miall and Sheromie Brewster.

“Advocacy is an important pillar for us. While we’ve come a long way and are seeing some amazing initiatives and opportunities within the women’s game, there is a still a way to go reach equality within our sport. We’re lucky to have Advisory Board members from all facets of the game who will be our eyes and ears and lead us on our mission,” Greenway says.

The Girls Cricket Club supports both the ICC’s 100% Cricket campaign to encourage 1 million girls to take up cricket in the year ending 2021 and the ECB’s £20M action plan to make cricket a gender-balanced sport as part of its Inspiring Generations strategy for 2020-2024.

First on the agenda for the Girls Cricket Club is a free cricket skills session to be held over Zoom at 10.30am on Tuesday 1st June. The session is open to girls of all ages and abilities and will be hosted by Lydia Greenway, with a special guest appearance from England Captain Heather Knight. A full schedule of face-to-face camps will be announced on the Girls Cricket Club website shortly.

To keep up to date and to sign up for the free Zoom skills session head to girlscricketclub.com