"We could not be more proud of her." Parents of teenage cricketing ace Liberty Heap on watching their daughter make her debut with England squad for women's T20 World Cup in South Africa

And there could be no-one prouder than her parents, Ben and Shelly Heap, who have just arrived in South Africa to watch their daughter play.

Ben said: "Liberty has worked so hard for this and she deserves it so much.

"We could not be more proud of her and we are so looking forward to watching her play. This is like a dream for us as a family.”

Liberty discovered her love of cricket aged eight after playing it in a PE lesson at primary school. She then asked her parents if she could start playing and joined junior sessions at Lowerhouse CC, where Ben captains the first Xl, and who coached her early progress in the game.

Shelly said: "Ben was overjoyed that Liberty took to the sport he loves and he has devoted hours of his time to coaching her. It has been a joy to see them both share a real passion for the game."

Liberty, who rose to prominence playing at academy level for North West Thunder and the government-led ECB School Games programme, made history when she became the first female to captain the cricket team at the renowned Stonyhurst College in Clitheroe.

She is part of the 15-strong squad for the historical tournament billed as a showcase for the future stars of the women’s game. And Liberty opened the batting in the first official u19 World Cup game and scored 25 from 12 balls to get the innings off to a good start.

Over recent seasons, Liberty has been one of the top run-scorers in the country at regional academy level for Thunder Academy, scoring several half centuries. She has also made appearances for the senior Thunder squad and is currently training with the senior squad to enhance her skills.

She has also been one of the standout performers with the bat in the ECB School Games programme over the past two seasons, knocking 86 from 53 ball for the highest individual score last year, and she was the leading run-scorer in this year’s competition with 119 runs to her name as her Team Brunt emerged gold medal winners.

As well as her success with the bat, Liberty has produced some outstanding performances with the ball over the past two seasons. In the School Games final last year, she took a four-wicket haul as her team went on to win gold, and she is a regular wicket-taker at academy and age group level.

Liberty, who was named Young Achiever of the Year at this year’s Active Burnley Awards, organised by Burnley Leisure and Culture is taking a year out of education to concentrate on her cricket,