The secretary of the Hampshire Cricket League, Anne Craft, remembers how difficult it was for her as a young schoolgirl trying to play the game she loved.

And it's those memories that have increased her determination to make sure that women in Hampshire don't suffer from the same lack of opportunity.

The journey to providing that opportunity, a division for all female teams from the county, has been a difficult one that failed at the first attempt several years ago.

But it was thanks to plenty of persistence, particularly from Anne, 64, that the division was reinstated last summer ahead of the 2006 season under the banner of the Hampshire Cricket League.

Now in its second season the division is only six teams strong, but Anne hopes to continue the growth of the HCL by increasing the number of women's teams involved.

Anne, who picked out setting up a women's league as the highlight of her six years as secretary, said: "When I was at school in Nottingham the opportunities for women to play cricket were none.

"That's why I stopped playing. We played at school but there weren't any other teams to play.

"That definitely made me more determined to set opportunities up here."

For full story see today's Daily Echo.