CRICKET in the village of Tattenhall dates back over 150 years and now there is a new generation playing the game thanks to the support of a local law firm.

Tattenhall Cricket Club, near Chester, was founded in 1864, the year the legendary W G Grace hit his first hundred, and the future looks rosy with a crop of young cricketers to take the field.

The club is launching its All-Stars and Dynamos age groups for five to 11-year-olds this summer thanks to £1,000 sponsorship from Swayne Johnson who have an office in the High Street and five more across North Wales.

Club Chairman Jon Beddow said: “We have a tradition of encouraging young local cricketers and we currently have Henry Dobson in the MCCU Development squad at Leeds University while Liverpool and Wales striker Ben Woodburn has also played for us.

“We want to build on this with the All-Stars for five to eight-year-olds and the Dynamos for eight to 11s and they can then graduate into our junior age groups sides and start what we hope will be a lifelong involvement with the game.

“We have great facilities here at the club and we’re very grateful to Swayne Johnson for helping us to launch this exciting project to encourage youngsters to start playing.”

Rebecca Robinson, the solicitor who heads the Swayne Johnson team at Tattenhall, said: “We’re based in the High Street and we’re keen to be involved in the local community.

“I and my family have moved here to be part of the village and our four-year-old son, Charlie, will hopefully soon be another recruit for the cricket club.

“But Swayne Johnson’s commitment to the village extends further than that and as well as providing specialist legal services across a wide range of areas of law, we pride ourselves on being active and supportive within the community through sponsorships, donations, fundraising and attending local events which will certainly include cricket matches.”

All-Stars and Dynamos cricket is supported by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Tattenhall plan to launch the series of weekly sessions on May 17 after holding Taster events at their ground at The Flacca on Mondays, April 26 and May 10.

Both age groups will use light plastic bats and softballs with each young player receiving a New Balance personalised T-shirt with name and number and the sessions will run for eight weeks.

Jon added: “It’s all branded in line with The Hundred, the exciting new national top-level tournament and will run for eight weeks and we’re hoping to get between 40 and 60 local children involved.

“We have already run some sessions at the Park School and they went down really well and we’ll be visiting other local schools as well and we’ve got between five and ten people involved including qualified coaches.”