Two young cricketers from South Wales have been selected for the England women’s U15 development programme.
Jessica Thornton, a 13-year-old leg-spinner and middle-order batter from Mid Glamorgan, who plays for Newport CC, was also on the programme for the winter 2013 and summer 2014.
Alex Griffiths, a seam bowler and top-order batter, is 12 and from West Glamorgan. She plays for Port Talbot Town CC has been selected for the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) development programme for the first time.
Both were members of the Wales U13 girls squad in 2014, and her selection makes Alex the youngest girl in the ECB U15 programme.
Jess was one of three Welsh girls in the ECB’s summer competition, along with Charlotte Scarborough, aged 13, and Rose Evans, 15, both also from Newport CC.
“This is a fantastic achievement for the girls and for Welsh cricket,” said Cricket Wales performance manager, John Derrick. “Getting three girls on to the summer competition was a terrific endorsement of the talent we have here, but having two on the development programme itself is a step up from that – a real accolade for the girls and for the coaches who work with them.”
Jess and Alex will join the cream of cricketing talent from all over England at training camps throughout the winter at the ECB’s national performance centre in Loughborough.
Cricket Wales is the national governing body for junior and recreational senior cricket in Wales. It works closely with Glamorgan County Cricket Club, which governs the men’s professional game. For information visit www.cricketwales.org.uk
