Southern Brave stars Tahlia McGrath and Sonny Baker visited Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre to help inspire the next generation of young cricketers in the south.

The Wicketz Festival saw over 80 young people aged 8-19 from inner-city Southampton take part in three different competitions throughout the day, as well as attending life skills sessions, and having the opportunity to meet and greet professional Southern Brave players.

The grey teams took a clean sweep, winning all three competitions – soft ball, tape ball, and hard ball – and all participants received a Wicketz t-shirt, certificate, a Southern Brave goodie bag, and the winning teams were awarded a medal each.

In the afternoon, young players had a Q&A session with Southern Brave’s Sonny Baker and Tahlia McGrath, and also take part in a Kwik Cricket session with them.

Our Wicketz programme is delivered in Southampton by the Hampshire Cricket Board, and aims to widen access to the game by providing free-to-access cricket to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, while developing integral life skills such as first aid.

Talented players from the Wicketz programme are also nominated to feed into the Hampshire Hawks City Academy, providing a pathway into the professional game.