Witney Mills starts Team Witney 2035 to find England cricket star

Witney Mills Cricket Club has launched a new scheme to capitalise on a huge summer for the sport, with the hope that a girl or boy from the town one day represents their country.

The initiative, Team Witney 2035, will see the club hold free sessions for seven to 11-year-olds every Wednesday throughout August and September.

It has gained huge interest already, with junior coach Richard Tilley, who thought up the idea alongside club captain Mike Dove, revealing he took inspiration from a famous Oxfordshire sportsman.

He said: "I used to play at the same golf club as world top 40 player Eddie Pepperell [from Abingdon] and his dad, Ron.

"Ron very occasionally said very wise things and I remember he used to tell Eddie 'there is a young boy out there who is going to be world No 1 in 15 years' time, and there's no reason it can't be you if you work hard'.

"We are giving kids the same message – there are 16 kids out there who are going to be in that England squad in 2035 and you could be one of them if you have the talent and commit yourself to the sport.

"But if you don't quite have the talent then you are still going to play the greatest game, have fun and make the greatest friends."

The hour-long sessions start next Wednesday, after a hectic few weeks of planning following England's dramatic world cup victory over New Zealand on July 14.

With the first Ashes test against Australia starting on Thursday, Mr Dove said the appetite for cricket among the club's youngsters has never been higher.

He added: "The second England won the world cup, me and Richard knew we had to jump on the bandwagon.

"The impact on the club has been huge. One kid said he wanted to bowl like Jofra Archer and another said he could hit it further than [batsman] Jos Buttler.

"The kids were all talking about the world cup on the Wednesday afterwards. I hadn't seen anything like it before."

Dozens of parents have already contacted the club ahead of the first hour-long session at 6pm next Wednesday.

Once the summer programme ends, a string of indoor sessions will take place over the winter.

Witney Mills relaunched its youth section in 2013 and already has more than 100 children playing in four age groups from under 9s to under 15s.

Meanwhile, 50 five to eight-year-olds are on the club's All Stars programme, a national initiative set up by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Search Team Witney 2035 on Facebook or email info@witneymillscc.co.uk.