LAUNCESTON was one of five schools in the county to welcome England women's cricketer Heather Knight for a visit recently, as part of the Cornwall Cricket Board (CCB) Chance to Shine (C2S) campaign.

C2S began in 2005, and has had an enormous impact on girls' cricket with over 150,000 girls playing the game across England and Wales. Annually, Cornwall Cricket Board Ltd (CCB Ltd) delivers cricket to over 2,000 girls, with a large number going on to participate in local club cricket.

The Spirit of Cricket was the key message for the schools who received a 20 minute assembly. It involved watching an inspiring video of all the key people and moments in recent cricket history.

This led into a coaching session comprising of fun warm-up activities, followed by engaging games of cricket. Students then had the opportunity to quiz the England player on a range of topics, with many interesting and original questions being asked.

As well as providing pupils with the opportunity to meet an international athlete, the main purpose of the visit was to help enthuse and encourage primary and secondary schools to embrace cricket and to enthuse pupils to start playing cricket in their local cricket clubs.

For the full report, and a round up of the news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.