Captain Charlotte Edwards was among the England women’s stars who inspired the next generation of international players at the National Cricket Performance Centre (NCPC) in Loughborough over the weekend.
Edwards and five other members of the international set-up led the England Women’s Development Programme Under-15s (EWDP U15s) in sessions explaining what it is like to play for the senior side.
Huge thanks to @ECB_cricket@Lottie2323& @Anya_shrubsole for their time today with the EWDP15 girls. #topteampic.twitter.com/YWuB4vnaPZ
— Lisa Pagett (@Pagita1) January 18, 2015
Top-order batter Edwards and opening bowler Anya Shrubsole on Sunday coached the teenagers, a day after Fran Wilson talked about nutrition and hydration.
Friday saw the under-15s share the NCPC with the senior squad, who delivered several sessions.
In the morning the youngsters learned about strength and conditioning, individual skills development and preparing for a tour like the upcoming one to New Zealand.
That afternoon Head of England Women’s Performance Paul Shaw outlined the senior set-up before Becky Grundy and Kate Cross spoke about dealing with the pressures of international cricket.
The EWDP U15s then gave a presentation about what they had learned.
Edwards reflected on a “brilliant” three days, telling ecb.co.uk:“For the EWDP U15s to be part of our training session on Friday was fantastic, not just for them but for us to hopefully show them the right way of doing things.
“To be asked to come in and deliver batting sessions is something I’ve really enjoyed. It’s great to see we’ve got some really exciting and talented youngsters at the under-15s age-group, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.”
Edwards enthused about the differences between now and when she was an under-15, 20 years ago.
“This is the great thing now that these girls have got many opportunities to come into England sessions and learn and observe and hopefully take a lot away,” she added.
“I could only have dreamed of those kind of experiences from an early age. I guess I had to learn the hard way, which is not always bad.
“It’s great that our pathway is really clear and that we’re using all the England players and Academy players so we can hopefully develop their learning a lot quicker than what they did a few years ago.”
Ellie Mason, a batting all-rounder who plays for Bramhall in Cheshire, enjoyed learning from the stars.
“It’s been really good, really good to talk to them and actually interact with them,” she said.
On what she picked up, Mason added: “If you’re having a net, it doesn’t mater if you get it wrong. I get quite frustrated if I don’t get something right so it’s good to see how they go about their nets and what you can improve on to be an elite cricketer.”
Mason continued: “I would love to be play for England. I wouldn’t say I’d be a captain but I’d really like to open the batting and be really involved in the set-up.”