A budding nine-year-old cricketer is the star of a new video shining a light on the army of volunteers who lie behind the making of every player.
Women’s and girls’ cricket reached new heights in 2025 with over 1,000 new teams playing the sport - and this year already looks set to be even bigger, with more fixtures already played and scheduled than at the same point last year.
With England Women about to begin a World Cup campaign on home soil the ECB is aiming to get a record 500,000 women and girls playing cricket this year, alongside recruiting 500 new volunteers as Young Champions of Change and supporting 300 female leaders in the sport.
Now nine-year-old Edie, who is taking the game by storm at her club, Oakamoor CC in Staffordshire, is the star of a new ECB video championing the heroes behind every cricketer.
The video captures the boom in participation, particularly for women and girls, which is happening across the country and puts the unsung volunteers from the club into the spotlight – people like Edie’s mum and dad, her siblings, her coaches and the ground staff.
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.”
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.”
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales comes at a time where recreational cricket is providing a strong platform from which to grow the game, thanks to continued investment from the ECB and its partners.
- There are more than 6,000 women’s and girls’ teams – over 1,000 more than the end of 2024 and with support from Metro Bank we want to continue this growth.
- There were 43,454 men’s, women’s and junior teams in 2025, (up 19% since 2022) who played 216,000 fixtures (up 19% since 2022).
- 2025 was a record year for the ECB’s National Youth Programmes. Across All Stars and Dynamos, there were over 106,000 participants, of which 32,000 were girls. Thanks to the generosity of ECB Partners Toyota and Sky, as well as local donors and funders, 23,000 participants were able to access the programmes for free, via bursary places.
- Around two in three Dynamos tell us they intend to keep playing after taking part in the programme.
- This year, 39,500 volunteers delivered a record-breaking Get Set Weekend, powered by Toyota, as they got over 1,800 clubs across England and Wales ready for the season.
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup begins on 12 June with England taking on Sri Lanka 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/.