A NEW CHAPTER
When Lydia Greenway started to play cricket, she didn’ t even know an elite England Women’ s team existed!
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Now 31, having retired from international cricket as a World Cup and World Twenty20 winner and a five – time Ashes winner, Lydia Greenway is looking to inspire the next generation of female cricketers.
Since her England retirement in June 2016, the middle-order batter, known for her fielding, has been working on establishing Cricket for Girls. It is intended to offer relevant and appealing coaching to women and girls of all ages and abilities, from novices to talented players looking to take the next step.
‘ At the top of the pyramid we have the academies, which are aimed at club and county cricketers who just want to develop and improve their game – that would be a longer training programme over six to eight weeks, where they get specialist coaching,’ she explains.‘ As well as that, we have masterclasses with England players, open to all players of all ages and abilities. It’ s an opportunity to come along and work with an England player, learn from them, and learn how they train. We have day camps, us going to clubs and running more of a fun day where there’ s lots of skills, lots of games, and then a mini-World Cup in the afternoon for them to play in amongst themselves.’
As demand increases and Cricket for Girls grows, Greenway is fortunate that she can call on her former England teammates – Laura Marsh and Jenny Gunn were two of the first to come on – board.
‘ The young girls who might just be getting into the game for the first time, they might be players who want to go on and play for England themselves, so I think for them to be able to be coached by some of the England girls is really good,’ says Greenway.
Marsh is pleased to be able to help out her old pal.‘ I’ m really glad I’ ve got the opportunity to go down and help out and coach some of the young girls,’ she says.‘ It’ s important, growing up, to have role models, and hopefully that’ s the kind of role that us England players can have in academies like Lydia’ s.’
Lydia feels incredibly strongly about ensuring that girls have role models to show them their dreams are achievable.
‘ I think it’ s just brilliant for young girls growing up to have a coach and a female role model to look up to. I know that female cricket coaches are often few and far between, so I’ m trying to provide more role models and make it much more accessible.’
Marsh agrees, adding:‘ When we grew up playing cricket, we didn’ t necessarily have female role models in the game to look up to, so the more we can do to get involved at grass – roots level and promote the game and inspire young kids, the better the game will be moving forward.
‘ Women’ s sport as a whole in the last few years has done brilliantly. It’ s great that the media have jumped on that as well and really got behind it. I think we definitely have a role to play in that, and if we can give back and help to coach, and inspire young girls not just through our performances but through coaching, then that’ s really powerful too.’
Marsh thinks that female coaches can teach, inspire and support female players in a way that a male equivalent might not quite understand.
‘ There are differences in the game between men and women’ s cricket,’ she says,‘ and I suppose being female players we
10 Hitting the Seam Issue 37