Empowering women and girls through Wicketz

Repton School hosted the biggest girls' Wicketz residential in the charity's history this summer

CHARITY FEATURE

The Lord's Taverners charity hosted their biggest ever girls' Wicketz residential in August, with 80 girls aged 9–16 from 11 counties coming together for three days of cricket, friendship and invaluable life skills workshops at the incredible Repton School in Derbyshire.

Wicketz is a community cricket programme aimed at young people aged 8-19 living in areas of deprivation, which uses cricket as a tool for social change. The 2025 summer has seen the largest number of Wicketz residentials ever delivered in the charity's history, including a record-breaking girls' residential. 

This residential celebrated inclusion and empowerment, with cricket sessions tailored to all abilities and ages, alongside creative workshops, mental wellbeing sessions and plenty of space for self-expression and friendship-building. The importance of having female-only sessions and residentials is huge, and having these led by female coaches who girls taking up the sport feel they can relate to, is vital.

As one participant said: "I feel when I play in a boys' team, I need to be on the lookout 24/7. I feel like I cannot mess up once because they'll say, 'Oh, you can't play cricket because you're a girl'. But in Wicketz, when it's all girls, I can play as freely as I want as I won't be judged."

Another added: "I thought I was going to be a girly girl and not do any sports. But cricket changed my whole perspective of girls."

During the three days, the girls shared their goals, and they were simple but powerful: friendship, fun, inspiration and learning new things. 

Youth voice is at the heart of the development of the Wicketz programme. Every Wicketz project and session is adapted to help facilitate these goals that enable participants to become the best version of themselves. At the residential, the teams created for competition were mixed to ensure girls from different parts of the country got the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and learn from peers who may be experiencing similar things in everyday life – which helped widen the pool of friends and role models' participants are able to benefit from.

Finding friendships and peers has been vital for the young girls engaging with the programme: "Before Wicketz I thought there was something wrong with me because I got bullied at school. But being here has shown me I'm not the problem, I've made friends and feel better about myself."

Workshops delivered by some of the programme's supporters and partners at Repton School were tailored to suit the aspirations of participants. FabLittleBag CEO, Martha Silcott, delivered an interactive workshop designed to tackle taboos around periods.

Take Her Lead attempted to connect participants with female professional players and career pathways. Her Game Too discussed the history of women's sport and educated on tackling sexism and discrimination within the game. Maiden Cricket hosted a T-shirt design competition, with the winning design being printed and gifted by the specialist female cricket clothing brand. There were also important sessions on the importance of mental health, good communication and nutrition, all delivered by Wicketz development officers who engage with participants on a weekly basis all-year round.

Wicketz programme manager, Katie Holland, said: "Through Wicketz, girls have access to a free year-round cricket programme that helps them develop confidence, life skills, and friendships in a safe and welcoming environment, with benefits that go far beyond playing cricket. The residential experience builds on this foundation: by engaging with girls from a wide range of cultures and abilities and taking part in workshops, they are empowered to have a voice and feel a true sense of belonging in cricket."

The Lord's Taverners continues to develop their programmes to improve engagement levels with girls in cricket. To support and find out more about Lord Taverners, click here.

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