NEWPORT Under-13 Girls were given a standing ovation at the home of cricket at the weekend after a sensational season that saw them crowned national champions.

The Spytty Park youngsters were presented with the Lady Taverners Twenty20 Cup at Lord’s by former England captain Mike Gatting before the Yorkshire Bank 40 final.

The girls did a lap of honour, receiving the applause of Glamorgan and Nottinghamshire supporters.

It has been an outstanding year for girls’ cricket in Newport with the under-13s becoming UK champions and the under-15s finishing as runners-up.

The sport is growing in popularity with women, England recently winning the Ashes against Australia.

Head coach Mike Knight said: “Cricket is a fantastic game for girls but they get very little opportunity to play it.

“We’ve found that once the girls start to play cricket they really enjoy it and want to come back for more.

“We have a huge girls’ cricket section with over 60 girls attending weekly coaching sessions and last season, in addition to our UK Cup successes, we had 17 girls who played for Wales at various age groups.”

The club is now looking to find the next generation of cricketers and will hold four free taster sessions for girls in their under-9 to under-11 age groups.

The sessions take place at the Indoor Tennis Centre at Newport International Sports Village and start on Friday, October 4, running from 6 to 8pm.

Coaching will continue through the winter. For more information or to book a place contact Mike Knight on 07793823294 or mike.knight2@ntlworld.com