YOUNG cricketers from throughout Ryedale and Scarborough will now be able to benefit from a new training scheme designed to help stars of the future.

A Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB) Bronze Regional Pathways Centre has been set up at Pickering to support the development of talented youngsters across the region. It will enable the best young players to access high-quality coaching, and get on a route to the county game.

Establishing it is the culmination of many years of hard work by local coaches.

“Establishing a centre at Pickering has been supported through financial inputs from key partners to ensure a high standard of indoor facilities with commitment from all partners, including local volunteers, cricket coaches and cricket clubs working together with the statutory agencies,” said Andrew Watson, YCB director of development.

The first intake of young cricketers includes 18 from Ryedale and seven from the Scarborough, all of whom would previously have travelled to York, Middlesbrough or further afield to be part of the pathways scheme.

They will begin with nine indoor coaching sessions from which they can progress to their county age group squads and potentially higher within Yorkshire cricket.

Ryedale District Council has supported the venture and a key component in establishing the centre at Pickering has been the investment in the indoor cricket facilities at the Northern Ryedale Leisure Centre.

These facilities will also be available for local cricket clubs and amateur players.

Coun Linda Cowling, leader of Ryedale District Council, said: “I am very pleased that funding has been made available for cricket coaching in our district.

“This is the pathway which leads young cricketers to play eventually for Yorkshire and potentially for England, so it is an excellent opportunity.”