WHEN the young ladies from the West Yorkshire Ladies Cricket Association stepped out on to the hallowed turf to make their debut in the local cricket league on Sunday they were making history.

The team of Under-9s based at Pool-in-Wharfedale Cricket Club were immediately aware of the importance of the game when they were greeted by television cameras and our press photographer.

They had been prepared well by their coaches Wendi Bolton, Glenys Peel and the country's first wheelchair bound coach Rita Birch.

The youngsters were smartly turned out not quite in whites as they had selected a pale blue shirt bearing a crest designed by one of their members.

Nine year-old Jessica Hargreaves did the design in a competition when the girls held a Christmas party and her design was voted the best by all the players.

This has now been embroidered onto their shirts and sweatshirts by local sports firm PC Sports.

This is headed up by well-known cricketer Peter Graham of Northumberland and Bradford League fame.

He was among the bystanders as the girls took the field - proudly watching his youngest daughter Annabel follow in his footsteps.

The squad now has 24 members but only eight were able to turn out in this historic game at Old Park Road, Roundhay.

The team was captained by Zoe Roberts and was Vicky Stewart, Natalie Anslow, Rianne Woodham, Lia Helme, Chelsea Holdsworth, Amber Carlton and Annabel Graham.

The youngest player in the team is aged seven. The girls mostly come from Pool but there are also members living in Otley, Menston, Yeadon and surrounding areas.

The girls and their coaches were interviewed for television before the match and the excitement was building up.

They were not completely untried as they had taken part in a tournament with the boys at Burley-in-Wharfedale CC the previous week.

The girls batted first and with an eye on the weather the two umpires - one the wheelchair bound Rita Birch making it another first (see back page) - agreed to play half a game with one over per bowler and then see if the weather was fit to continue.

As it turned out it was and the youngsters - boys and girls alike - enjoyed a full game with North Leeds the victors by some 60 runs.

The girls showed commendable ability in the field and their batting and bowling skills will obviously improve by the game as they get more experience.

Coach Wendi Bolton said: "In all our association has about 60 girls playing at different ages. We try to find teams for girls and some of ours will move on to play for Bradford Ladies. We are trying to give girls a pathway into cricket."

The game was watched by Airedale Junior League President Brian Wheeler from Burley-in-Wharfedale.

He said: We as a league are very glad that we can support the girls in their cricket.

"Just as girls' soccer is the fastest growing sport at the moment we hope that in a few years time it will be girls' cricket that is the fastest growing sport.

"We are happy to be in at the forefront of this and I am confident that next year we will see other girls' teams joining the league."

Peter Graham, who helps to coach the girls as well as sponsor them, said: "I am just delighted to give the girls a little bit of help. Wendi and Rita have done a fantastic job and they deserve every bit of help they can get."

Airedale and Wharfedale Senior Cricket League secretary Howard Clayton said:"We and the Yorkshire Cricket Board are delighted to see girls' cricket getting off the ground in this area.

"We are also delighted to see Rita become the first person in a wheelchair to qualify as a cricket coach and to see her umpiring.

"We have lots of disabled people enjoying their cricket in Yorkshire but Rita has broken some ground and hopefully others will now join in."

Coach Rita said: "The girls thoroughly enjoyed their first venture into league cricket. There was some good cricket played and the boys certainly know they have been in a game."

The girls of the West Yorkshire Ladies Under-9 team made 179-6 playing the Gordon Bower style game and the boys from North Leeds made 237-0.

North Leeds umpire John Jackson awarded the girls' match point to captain Zoe Roberts.

Rita said: "They all thoroughly enjoyed it and I think the boys have now had their wake up call.

"To see the girls playing as a team supporting and encouraging each other brought home to us how hard they have worked to take in all we have been telling them.

"There was an improvement from the first innings to the second and now we are all really looking forward to our next match.