Shuttleworth College pupils play a part in cricket World Cup

Shuttleworth College were selected as one of 27 schools and colleges from across the country to act as the national anthem flag bearers thanks to TeamUp, an initiative developed by the

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), England Hockey and England Netball, to encourage seven to 13-year-old girls to experience the benefits of sport.

A total of 26 pupils from the college, based in Padiham, took centre stage for England’s final group game against New Zealand as they walked onto the field displaying the nations’ flags.

The pupils, of which 15 were girls, were also given the opportunity to play a game of cricket on the outfield during the half-time interval.

Abigail Bates, a teacher at Shuttleworth College who attended the World Cup match with the school children, said: “The whole day was such an amazing experience for our pupils. Many of our children who attend Shuttleworth have not had opportunities such as this. Fantastic initiatives such as TeamUp enable our pupils to gain experiences that they wouldn’t normally dream of.

“Some of our girls absolutely love cricket but have never been able to experience it live before, especially the women’s game.

“Seeing first-hand the female international players perform at such a high level has really inspired them to want to take up cricket more seriously.

“Since the game they’ve all been asking me for extra cricket training.”

In fact, all of the pupils who attended the game were so captured by the tournament and England’s progress that when the team got through to the semi-final – which was in the middle of the school day – they ran into their teacher’s classroom to watch the match.

By attending live women’s sport, the TeamUp initiative hopes to inspire a younger generation of girls to want to give team sports a try.

Shuttleworth College now has a successful cricket team (who made the Lancashire schools final) and two netball teams in certain age groups due to the increase in interest.