Andy Devaney
Cricket has always had a habit of producing heroes in odd places: village greens, damp nets, boundary ropes guarded by camping chairs and flasks of tea. This summer, one of its brightest faces is nine-year-old Edie from Oakamoor CC in Staffordshire, who stars in a new ECB video celebrating the volunteers, families and coaches helping women’s and girls’ cricket surge to record levels.
And if the sport wanted a neat reminder of where its future is being brewed, it could do worse than a youngster belting around her local club with the sort of joy administrators spend decades trying to bottle.
The timing is tidy too. With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup heading to England and Wales, the ECB is aiming to get a record 500,000 women and girls playing cricket this year, while also recruiting 500 new volunteers as Young Champions of Change and supporting 300 female leaders in the game.
A Grassroots Story With Proper Boots On
The new ECB video places Edie at the centre of a much bigger picture. It is not just about a talented young player. It is about the great unseen machinery of community sport: parents washing whites, coaches giving up evenings, siblings fielding until dark, ground staff coaxing pitches into life and volunteers making the whole thing tick without needing a brass band in their honour.
Alongside Edie, the film features England players Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophia Dunkley and Amy Jones, adding a nice full-circle feel to the whole thing. The dream at the top of the sport is being held up by the people opening the clubhouse, putting cones out and finding the missing set of stumps.
After filming for the video during the Easter holidays, Edie said: “I love playing every week down at Oakamoor. We’re one big family at the club and my mum and dad, and my brother and sister Charlotte and Will, are always there helping out or playing. The coaches Amy, Jason, Alex, Nick and Dilesh are the best and that’s why me and my teammates love it so much.”
That, really, is the whole story in miniature. Not a strategy document. Not a slogan. Just a child who loves her club because the people around her have made it feel like home.
Women’s And Girls’ Cricket Is Not Quietly Growing — It Is Charging
The numbers behind the story are substantial. Women’s and girls’ cricket reached new heights in 2025, with more than 1,000 new teams joining the sport. This year is already shaping up to go bigger again, with more fixtures already played and scheduled than at the same stage last season.
There are now more than 6,000 women’s and girls’ teams, an increase of more than 1,000 since the end of 2024. With support from Metro Bank, the ECB wants that momentum to continue rather than enjoy a polite round of applause and then wander back to the pavilion.
Across the wider recreational game, 43,454 men’s, women’s and junior teams played in 2025, up 19% since 2022. Those teams contested 216,000 fixtures, also up 19% since 2022. That is not a minor uptick. That is the sound of scorebooks filling up across England and Wales.
The Volunteers Behind The Scoreboard
Gemma Barton, the ECB’s Head of Strategic Growth, said: “It has been a privilege to feature Edie and Oakamoor Cricket Club in such an important year for women’s and girls’ cricket as we are set to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup next month.
“When we heard about Edie, we thought she’d be a fitting star for this video and so it proved to be. Her love of cricket, her family and her club all shine through and she’s a brilliant example of how our sport brings families and communities together.
“The video also gives deserved profile to those volunteers at the club, without whom, we would not be seeing the growth in the women’s and girls’ game that we have. So, to all those volunteers, coaches and ground staff at Oakamoor, across Staffordshire, and across the rest of England and Wales who make cricket happen, we want to say a big thank you.”
It is a fair point. Every big sporting movement eventually gets measured in participation charts, funding pledges and fixture data. But at club level, it is usually measured in who turns up when the weather looks bleak and the square needs sorting.
All Stars, Dynamos And The Next Wave
The ECB’s National Youth Programmes also enjoyed a record year in 2025. Across All Stars and Dynamos, more than 106,000 children took part, including 32,000 girls.
Thanks to ECB partners Toyota and Sky, along with local donors and funders, 23,000 participants were able to access the programmes for free through bursary places. That matters because the next great batter, keeper or seamer should not be blocked at the gate by cost.
There is also encouraging retention. Around two in three Dynamos participants say they intend to keep playing after taking part in the programme. In grassroots cricket, that is gold dust. Getting a child through the door is one thing. Making them want to come back is where the real craft begins.
A World Cup Summer With A Club Cricket Heart
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup begins on 12 June, with England taking on West Indies at Edgbaston. Twelve teams will chase a place in the final at Lord’s on Sunday, 5 July, and the tournament arrives with the domestic game in noticeably rude health.
For England Women, this World Cup will be played on home soil with all the pressure and possibility that brings. But for the wider sport, the bigger opportunity may be what happens after the last ball is bowled.
If girls watching from clubhouses, living rooms and boundary edges see a pathway that feels real, reachable and welcoming, then this summer could leave more behind than highlights and ticket stubs.
A Small Star In A Very Big Moment
Edie’s role in the ECB video works because it does not feel manufactured. She is not being asked to carry the sport on her shoulders. She is simply showing what is already happening: girls are playing, families are gathering, clubs are adapting, and women’s cricket is moving from “growing area” to genuine sporting force.
That is the charm of it. The future of cricket may well be shaped at Edgbaston and Lord’s this summer, but it is also being shaped at Oakamoor CC by a nine-year-old, her teammates, her coaches, her family and the volunteers who keep the game alive long after the TV cameras have packed up and gone home.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup begins on 12 June with England taking on West Indies at Edgbaston, with 12 teams all hoping to make the final on Sunday, 5 July at Lord’s. You can secure your ticket and be a part of the movement by visiting tickets.womens.t20worldcup.com/.