Downton Abbey's Jim Carter talks about his part in building women's cricket
Last Updated: 03/07/16 3:25pm
Women's cricket is on the rise, and Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter is happy to play a part in continuing the sport's progress.
The inaugural Sky Sports Women's Cricket Week is underway and former England captain Charlotte Edwards has already told us just how important it can be for the sport.
Cricket is flourishing in England, with the women's game leading the way, and Carter is a big supporter of the Hampstead Cricket Club, where there has been a women's team for more than 10 years.
Carter is a previous president of the club, and he told Sky Sports: "We've always encouraged women's participation in cricket. We used to just let them join in with the boys, thinking they were happy to do that, but when we talked to them we realised they would prefer to have their own section.
"The women's team has been running here for 10 or 11 years and it was only last year we started a dedicated girl's training section, boosted by a visit from the England Women's team, who were fantastic.
"Instantly we signed up 30 girls, and it's them who have said to us 'we want to play games'. Last year we organised our own friendlies and now Middlesex has a girl's league with six or seven teams. It's developing naturally but all fed by the girls' enthusiasm for cricket."
Click on the attached video for the whole interview with Jim Carter and more about Women's Cricket Week.
