England World Cup winner Lydia Greenway impressed with The 1 champion Madeline Welham

Cambridge’s Madeline Welham was last week celebrating being crowned champion of The 1.

Created by England legend Lydia Greenway, The 1 has established itself as the leading competition developed specifically to create pathways for girls in cricket through a search for the next number one female all-rounder.

And this year’s event was won by Welham, who came out on top with 76 points from a possible 100 on a day of action that saw 40 girls take part in a series of batting, bowling and fielding tests at Trent Bridge, home of Nottinghamshire CCC.

Welham, who helped Comberton Village College to win the English Schools Football Association Under-16 trophy in May, said: “It was a lot of pressure, especially doing the bowling last, but it was amazing.

“It was so much fun, so many different activities, so many different things you can do to show how good you are at cricket.”

Meanwhile, two-time World Cup winner Greenway added: “Madeline was phenomenal. For me it is about delivering all of the skills consistently and under pressure and she was able to do that.

“She was able to churn out the challenges on a consistent basis and at a good level as well. To me, that says a lot about the mental side of the game and how mentally tough she was.”