Women and girls who may never have played cricket before turned out for an open day at a famous cricket club.

More than 120 women and girls attended the first event of its kind at East Lancs Cricket and Sports club off Dukes Brow. Parents of young attendees were also encouraged to attend.

The event was held in partnership with Dr Chand Rana and aimed to give attendees an opportunity to try cricket for the first time or rediscover their love for the sport.

The day began with a series of talks from women making their mark in cricket.

Dr Chand Rana, from Whalley Range Women’s Team, spoke about her love for the game and the importance of creating opportunities for women to participate.

Young county player Zainab Azam shared her cricket journey and encouraged girls to pursue their ambitions, while Aasma Hussain reflected on how she began playing cricket informally in local parks with a group of women in Manchester before progressing to win the GMCL Softball League and transition into hardball cricket.

Aiyla Hameed shared her personal story of being recruited to Werneth CC by the late Safia Hussain, who passed away earlier this year.

Kay Baig, made history in 2019 by establishing Lancashire’s first South Asian women’s cricket team and now represents W&G’s at Lancashire Cricket Foundation, praised the turnout and highlighted the many opportunities available within the women’s game.

Michelle Brennan, is a coach for Cricket Tots at East Lancs CC and runs sessions on Saturday mornings, also highlighted the opportunities available for younger children.

Members of the One Voice Blackburn WEGS group were also in attendance.

Attendees were then able to play cricket on the pitch watched by Lancashire-born former Head Coach of the Kuwait Women’s and Sweden Women’s First Team, Qasim Ali.

Arif from East Lancs said: “A huge thank you to everyone who attended and the amazing speakers for their support.

“We had a great turn out and a lot more than we were expecting. It goes to show the interest for the sport locally is huge.

“We will be looking to have another event like this in the future.”