A WHITCHURCH teenager has played her part in ensuring a summer of cricket after joining the official scoring team for the second T20 game between England and Pakistan at Old Trafford.

Holly Ecclestone, 17, was invited to be part of the scoring team at the fixture on August 30, for the latest adventure on her scoring journey which has seen her go from scoring for Whitchurch thirds to the scoreboxes for big matches at Lord’s and Edgbaston as well as Old Trafford.

It meant she had to have a Covid-19 test, self-isolate while she waited for the result and then travel to Old Trafford in isolation for the game which turned into a high-scoring thriller which England won by five wickets.

Speaking to Cricket Shropshire, Holly said it was all hands-on-deck for the 'hectic' game.

“It was a really good game, with Eoin Morgan teeing off with some of the other England batters to reach a big target – it did get quite hectic," said Holly. "We couldn’t really have asked for a more exciting game to keep us busy.”

Holly is on the Warwickshire Elite Scorers Pathway and is part of a pool of county scorers who can be asked to help out at big games.

With her living relatively close to Old Trafford, the call came for the T20 game.

“It was a very strange experience," added Holly. "I had to have a Covid test on the Friday then had to wait for 24 hours for the result to came back which was obviously negative.

“Then I couldn’t stop on my way up to Old Trafford and had to travel on my own, and had to have a temperature check on my way into the ground.

“It was a strange atmosphere in the ground – you could hear everything the players were saying with no crowd to drown out their chat.

“It was all very different to the World Cup or the Ashes games I have been to as a scorer where you have the Barmy Army in full voice.

"Despite all that it was an exceptional game to watch and score.”