Budding star dreaming of England

Hollie Young has been invited to spend the season with the Sussex under-11s girls’ squad following a successful trial.

Her father Martin said: “This will be a fantastic opportunity and experience for Hollie. We are all extremely proud of her. She’s absolutely cricket mad; she loves the sport immensely and has an ambition in the future to play for England.”

Even from an early age, Hollie has always shown an interest in bat and ball sports. She initially took tennis lessons for around four years at Egerton Park and showed considerable promise.

Also an accomplished athlete, Hollie first sampled cricket during a few practice sessions at Bexhill CC in 2010, although unfortunately it clashed with her choir commitments at St Peters Church.

When her choir involvement stopped, Hollie decided to pursue the cricket route again with Sidley Cricket Club. She has spent the past two years playing for Sidley and was part of the under-11s team which won the East Area Cricket Association Junior League title last summer.

“We’ve really have Trevor (Ramsden), Cheryl and Joel (Crittenden) to thank for everything they’ve done; it’s been fantastic and they’ve been very supportive,” Martin continued.

Hollie successfully attended a trial with the Eastern Eagles area set-up last September. She spent 10 weeks training with the Eagles, who then put her forward for a full Sussex trial.

That took the form of an indoor net session at Deans Leisure Centre in Brighton on Sunday and afterwards Hollie was told by the county that they were very keen to have her in the side.

The 11-year-old Little Common Primary School pupil has now got five weeks of Sunday afternoon training sessions to look forward to at the same venue, plus outdoor matches in the summer representing Sussex.

“She tends to bat and bowl,” added Martin. “She scored a lot of runs last year, but she’s a good all-rounder with her catching and bowling as well.Her reflexes are absolutely top notch.”

Sidley Cricket Club always welcomes new colt players. Any youngsters interested in joining should contact Trevor Ramsden on 07749 549241.