Queen Charlotte

Charlotte Burton picked up her award from Nasser Hussain on Wednesday

Charlotte Burton was surprised and honoured to win the Sky Sports Outstanding Coaching Award for the London and East region - a prize she picked up from Nasser Hussain during the recent one-day international at the Brit Oval.

A Sussex community coach for girls' cricket, Burton was put forward by her county and received a pleasant surprise when she won the regional award which was presented by the former England skipper between innings.

“Obviously I was very happy to receive it, not to mention surprised," she said. "I feel very proud and it was pleasing to see that my hard work is being recognised by Sky Sports and people like Nasser Hussain.”

Meeting the ex-England captain was a wonderful experience for the young coach.

“It was a real honour for me," she added. "It was fantastic to meet one of the great personalities and top names in English cricket and helped make the day even more special.”

Each year Sky Sports sponsors a coaching award scheme that sees winners on a regional and national basis. Counties are asked to nominate coaches involved in recreational cricket for the following awards - Outstanding Contribution and Services to Cricket Coaching, Outstanding Coaching Achievement and Young Coach of the Year.

The regional winners will now contest the national awards which take place in September at the famous Long Room in the Lord's pavilion. However, according to Burton, more important than her personal accolade is the rise in interest in women’s cricket, both in Sussex and nationwide.

“It’s grown very quickly, especially at county level," she said.

“My main brief is to coach all around Sussex and try to get as many girls involved in cricket as early as possible.”

It is clear that the new-found popularity of women’s cricket is being felt at local level. Aside from six Sussex players being regularly involved with England, the effect is evident at grassroots level too.

“In Sussex alone there are 16 clubs with a girls’ section and ten with a women’s section," she explained. "The popularity of the women’s game is clearly on the rise and it’s great to be involved.”

Burton added that her award is growing evidence that women have a very important role to play in coaching and the development in cricket, something she hopes will be continue long-term.

“It’s clear now that women can and do form a crucial part of cricket throughout the nation," she said. "It’s fantastic that the women's game is getting more publicity, especially after our girls won the Ashes. It’s encouraging younger girls to get involved and the longer this continues, the bigger a role we can fulfil.

“The success of the England girls and the use of them to promote the game nationwide is a great help, while the Chance to Shine initiative has really chipped in too.”

The Sussex-based coach also reflected with pride on the role of her own county in boosting women’s cricket.

“It’s great to see the amount of Sussex players involved in the England set-up. It shows that we are obviously doing something right.”

An avid fan of the England team, Burton believes they have a great chance of success in 2009 in the two global tournaments.

“They’ll do really well in both," she predicted. "I think we have a really good chance in the World Cup. The World Twenty20 will be interesting as we have not played so much of that format, so we’ll have to see. We’ve got a young side who have been together for a few years now and they keep on improving.”

On a personal note, a humble Burton is looking forward to the national awards without wanting to get ahead of herself.

“I’m not sure about my chances really. There are a lot of great people coaching and helping to develop cricket. To be honest I’m just really pleased about how far I’ve come already in the regionals and I’m not expecting anything more.”