A CRICKET club that was established in 1865 has just formed its first ever ladies' side.

Women from the Woodford Wells Cricket Club are preparing to take on Wanstead Ladies on Sunday and are looking forward to becoming the first women to represent the club in its 145-year history.

The new side's captain, PE teacher Vicki Berrill, who has only been training for about 10 weeks, said: “It's been talked about in the past, but there maybe hasn't been the commitment or the numbers to make it happen.

“We've been training once or twice a week and everyone is feeling better and better about the game.”

She added that aside from the odd training session when she was younger, she had never played cricket before and only became interested while watching the men's games at the club.

Most of the women already play hockey or tennis at the Woodford Wells Sports Club in Monkhams Lane, where the cricket team is based, and they are being coached by Mark Webb from the men's cricket team there.

Mr Webb said: “We've never had a ladies' team, so it's quite a big thing for the club.

“A lot of work goes on behind the scenes in cricket and you end up with the same people doing everything, so it was just one of those things we had never got round to.”

The women are hoping for better luck in their match than England's female rugby team, who narrowly missed out on winning the world cup on Sunday, when they were beaten by New Zealand.

“They're getting quite nervous now because they want to do well, but their progress has been amazing,” said Mr Webb.

He added that the club will put on a barbecue for the big match and members are keeping their fingers crossed for dry weather.