HORRABRIDGE teenager Stephanie Hutchins, fresh out of Tavistock College, and who plays cricket for Devon in the senior women’s side, has been picked to lead a Devon ladies’ U21s team on a tour of South Africa.

The tour will take place in February, and will promote women’s cricket and raise money for cricket facilities in the country’s townships and villages.

Stephanie, who plays for Yelverton Bohemians Cricket Club, says her favourite cricketer to watch is Sarah Taylor (Sussex and England) but her cricketing role model is current England captain Heather Knight.

She said: ‘I enjoy training to learn or do something new, I also made lots of new friends so the social side helped with the sporting side. My goal has always been to play for England and since the Kia Super League has started I have had an ambition to play for Western Storm (the South West team which won the new women’s league championship this year).

‘The womens game is different. Men play lots of fancy shots; the women play some fancy shots. Women don’t have as much power when hitting or pace when bowling but their techniques could be the same.

‘I have got into the Western Storm Development Squad for its second year and I’ll have county training as well. But the thing I’m most looking forward to is the tour to South Africa in February and there is a lot of fund-raising work to do between now and then.’

Because it is a fund-raising mission, players are expected to raise £1,500 each towards the costs.  

If anyone would like to donate to help Stephanie in her South African tour go to http://tinyurl.com/y9ooaltq