EIGHTEEN girls from Rowledge Cricket Club walked onto the hallowed pitch at the Kia Oval in front of a sellout crowd on Friday, July 14, to act as guards of honour at the Surrey vs Kent County Cricket NatWest T20 Blast match.

The local school girls had been invited to the Oval by Surrey County Cricket Club in recognition of Rowledge Cricket Club’s achievement of being the first in the county to submit their Clubmark for 2017.

In addition to acting as guards of honour the aspiring cricketers were also delighted to spend more than hour with Grace Gibbs, a 22-year-old Surrey Stars and England Academy player.

Ms Gibbs talked about her rise to the top of the sport, and gave them advice on the training and diet that helped her achieve her ambitions.

The match itself was thrilling, even if the result was not a Surrey win. Kent managed to achieve their best T20 performance of the season, beating Surrey by eight wickets in the 19th over.