30 Jul 2015 | Cricket
Five budding Welsh cricketers have been selected for the England Women's U15 Development Programme (EWDP) summer competition.
The event brings together the cream of young women cricketers from England and Wales for a week of matches at Shrewsbury School, Monday 10th to Friday 14th August.
The competition, organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), involves four select teams - three U!5 and one U16.
Jessica Thornton, Alexandra Griffiths and Charlotte Scarborough have been included in the U15 squads. Georgia Parfitt has been selected in the U16 squad and opening batter Rose Evans (Newport CC) is a reserve for the competition.
All five have been part of the Glamorgan Development Programme for the last 10 months.
Jessica Thornton (age 14, an all-rounder at Newport CC) and Alex Griffiths (age 13, an all-rounder at Port Talbot Town CC and Llangenech Women) were part of the winter EWDP as part of a 22-girl squad who trained on a monthly basis at the ECB Loughborough Performance Centre.
The winter squad members are always included in the summer competition - Alex is currently the youngest member of the EWDP U15 squad. The ECB then looks at other county players who have been performing well to take part in the competition.
Another Newport CC all-rounder, Charlotte Scarborough, age 14, who has performed exceptionally well this season for Wales U15, and U17, and has forced her way into the Wales women's team, is among those selected by the ECB scouts.
Georgia Parfitt, aged 16, a wicket keeper and batter also from Newport CC, has been selected for the U16s at the summer competition, after impressive performances for Wales U17 and Wales Women.
She was also recently invited to attend an U19 talent detection day at Loughborough recently where she performed well.
It's a great achievement to have five Welsh girls involved in the EWDP U15 summer competition in one way or another, said Aimee Rees, of Cricket Wales, who is the Wales U17 girls coach and women's team manager.
The girls thoroughly deserve their success which is a just reward for all their hard work. Their selection for this important competition shows that the future is very bright for Welsh cricket.