NEWPORT Cricket Club's girls are celebrating a double victory at the Lady Taverners T20 U13 and U15 competitions which culminated in eight clubs competing at Leamington Cricket Club.

Since 2003 more than 110,000 girls have competed in the Lady Taverners U13 and U15 indoor and outdoor cricket competitions, with 6,000 alone taking part in 2013.

The U13s kicked off the first finals day which saw Newport win the trophy after a comfortable win against Ealing.

Newport posted a score of 107, with Ealing managing just 20 runs in response. Newport’s route to the final included defeating Narborough & Littlethorpe (56/2) with a score of 57/0 in the first semi-final while Ealing (58/4) beat Wolverhampton (56/all out), in the other match. Both semi-finals were reduced to 16 overs per side due to rain delays. The third and fourth play-off saw a convincing win for Narborough & Littlethorpe (117/7) who beat Wolverhampton (42/all out).

Jess Thorton, captain of Newport U13, commented: “We’ve had a great day at Leamington CC; the competition was really well organised and we’ve had some tough matches to get to finals day. The Lady Taverners is doing a great job in promoting girls cricket, and to win the U13 National Finals two years in succession has been an amazing achievement for Newport Cricket Club. We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the organisation of the competition and we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”

The following day witnessed the U15s battle it out for the national title where Newport were again victors in a hard fought final against Ansty. The Welsh side posted a huge total of 145 for just one wicket with Ansty managing only 28 all out, in response. The first semi-final saw a tie between Ansty and Wrenthorpe who both scored 48 runs with Ansty making the final due to reaching the score in fewer balls.

The other semi-final saw a convincing win for Newport (113/4) against Walmley (67/4), and Wrenthorpe (96/4) were the victors in the third and fourth play-off against Walmley (51/all out).

Rose Evans, captain of Newport U15, commented: “A fantastic day which we all thoroughly enjoyed. We were runners up last year and it is such a great feeling to be the Champions this year. Winning the U13 cup yesterday was great and it was brilliant to do the U13 and U15 double. We would like to thank the Lady Taverners for their outstanding support for girls’ cricket.”

The annual competition saw girls’ cricket clubs nationwide compete for this year’s Lady Taverners T20 title. Clubs that took part in the 2014 finals included:

U13: Wolverhampton; Narlborough & Littlethorpe; Newport; Ealing

U15: Wrenthorpe; Walmley; Newport; Ansty

The Lord’s Taverners, the UK’s number one recreational cricket charity run the notable Lady Taverners Cricket Competitions alongside the ECB which are currently the UK's only national girls-only cricket tournaments. The competitions provide a framework to play at both an informal and more competitive level, with a clear progression pathway to local clubs and development programmes.

Many of the current England women’s squad members have developed through this route by participating in the distinguished Lady Taverners national competitions including current internationals Heather Knight, Anya Shrubsole and Sarah Taylor.

For more information about the competition including how to get involved, fixtures and results please go to: http://www.lordstaverners.org/girls-cricket or http://ladytavernerscomps.play-cricket.com/