Cornwall's First Ever International Cricket Match

The first international cricket match ever to be staged in Cornwall will take place this summer during a major new sporting festival.

After an absence of nine years, top level cricket is making a welcome return during a two-day event being hosted by the Cornish Sporting Club.

The festival will include two high profile professional matches, including a NatWest Women’s One Day International - England v India, and the Men’s Twenty 20 Challenge match – Cornwall v PCA Masters Eleven.

The England Women’s team is currently the world number one side and ICC Women’s World Cup champions, whilst India women are ranked number three in the world in 50 over cricket.

England Women’s captain, Charlotte Edwards, said: "I’m looking forward to playing the fourth match of the NatWest Women’s Series against India as part of the Cornish Cricket Festival; it’s fantastic for women’s cricket to be showcased in the county.

“I’m sure the festival will be an exciting event and I hope it inspires young people, especially girls across Cornwall to play and support cricket.”

The festival is being hosted by the Cornish Sporting Club and held at Truro Cricket Club, in Malpas, in July.

Organiser, Alan George, said: “The England v India match is a fantastic coup for Cornwall and we are extremely proud to be hosting the festival. We want to share our passion for cricket with sports fans, families and anyone else who fancies a great day out.

“The two key matches will take place on July 5 and 8, but there will be a selection of activities and events throughout the week.”

A star studded sporting dinner is also being held on July 6, with special guests including former England Rugby Union captain and Cornish legend Phil Vickery; along with the former England footballer Paul Merson.

Ensuring that the festival has a family feel is also hugely important to the organisers. Alan said: “The festival will provide inspiration to many more youngsters in the county to take up and enjoy the great game.

“With more youngsters participating we hope more will progress to professional county level and thus providing a long term aim of having a Cornish person representing the full England team.”

The festival organisers are committed to helping and improving grass roots cricket in Cornwall. A number of areas have been targeted for support over the next 12 months and beyond with festivals planned for future years.

This year a minimum of £2,000 sponsorship is being donated to the Cornish Cricket Board and the more successful the festival is, the larger the sponsorship will be.

The Cornish Sporting Club sponsored the Cornwall Under 15 team’s kit for their 2011 tour to the West Indies and will be doing the same for the 2012 team. 

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through the website, visit www.cornishcricketfestival.co.uk for more information.

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