A West Yorkshire cricket club welcomed England Women’s head coach Charlotte Edwards and former Coronation Street actor Colson Smith to a special event aimed at growing women’s and girls’ cricket.
Castleford Cricket Club played host to more than 60 people at the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund event, which took place on Wednesday, 26 August, as coaches, players and volunteers attended from across Yorkshire.
The evening was designed to give those working at grassroots level the skills, confidence, and knowledge to create more opportunities for girls to play and stay in cricket.
“The Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund is so important. It’s helped a number of clubs around the country to really advance their women’s and girls’ sections and create greater awareness around women’s cricket,” said Edwards.
“To be here tonight and see girls playing all-girls cricket, with women’s sections within big cricket clubs like Castleford, is so important. It’s really going to drive women’s cricket forward, and obviously Metro Bank have played a big part in that.”
Edwards, who played boys’ cricket when she was young because similar opportunities were not accessible to her, said events such as the Castleford gathering were vital to the continued growth of the women’s game.
“I think it’s all about having that aspiration and inspiration,” she said. “Hopefully, these girls have got lots of great role models now that they can look up to, and hopefully one day they’ll be walking out at Headingley, or wherever in the country, and playing for England.”
Through their partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund, which was launched in 2024, exists to grow and support the number of coaches of girls’ cricket, creating more
inclusive, welcoming environments and role models to nurture a generation of confident girls and women.
The Fund supports volunteers and coaches at every stage of their journey in girls’ cricket, while the Castleford event highlighted the importance of empowering coaches as they are the ones who can then help their players improve and progress.
Smith, Castleford’s Director of Cricket, knows personally what the club can mean to young people. He first came to Castleford aged nine and described it as “a place of acceptance, a place to escape and a place to be
myself”.
“We started with no players and now, tonight, we’ve got almost 25 girls playing cricket who, at the start of the year, weren’t playing it,” he said.
“Our girls’ coach, Ellie Nightingale, is on the books at Yorkshire, and you see the girls relate to Ellie and be inspired by her.
“Metro Bank are literally champions of women’s and girls’ cricket. Their support means you can send your volunteers on coaching courses, improve their knowledge, have events like this, and attend other events.
“If it wasn’t for this kind of support, the girls’ game wouldn’t get the light and attention it deserves. It’s definitely helping it grow, improve, and become a staple of every cricket club in and around the country.”
The sessions which took place during the evening included hands-on coaching sessions designed just for girls’ cricket, guidance from softball to hardball, and social media training on how to attract more female players to clubs.
Alice Johnson, Women and Girls Development Manager at the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, added: “The Metro Bank Fund removes barriers, builds confidence, and shows them that you don’t need to be a professional cricketer to be a coach. You just need to be someone who’s passionate,” she said.
“The girls wouldn’t have anything if the volunteers weren’t there. I think volunteers are the heartbeat of the game.”
By helping more girls access welcoming clubs, supportive coaches and visible role models, the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund gives them more than a chance to play, it helps build confidence, belonging and ambition. Because when girls feel supported in sport, they carry that belief into their lives.
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