Bedford Free School (BFS) is pleased to announce that it has, not just one, but two female county cricket players.

Mia Longo in year 8 and Belis Shrestha in year 10, both completed a rigorous eight-week trial with Bedfordshire Young Cricketers and have beaten off some very high-quality players to make the final squad.  Each student will represent Bedfordshire in their age category over the summer programme of matches and tournaments.

Both girls learnt to play cricket for the first time at BFS and have progressed to represent the boys cricket teams in hard ball competitions.  Belis has also joined Kempston Hammers CC, her local cricket club, and has played with the boys in the club setting.

But what makes their achievement even more remarkable is that BFS has no onsite PE facilities bar a small multi use hall, no cricket pitch, no cricket nets or even a sports field.  Michael Cox, Head of PE at BFS and Community & Partnerships for Advantage Schools said “We are extremely proud of the achievements of Mia and Belis, their success is down to their hard work and commitment.  At BFS we believe that given the right circumstances, all children are capable of extraordinary things, well these young ladies are testament to that fact.”

Cain Hamilton-Boyle, Cricket East Coach for Bedfordshire young cricketers said ‘Both girls performed really well in their trials and we were impressed with their work ethic and commitment. We look forward to them both representing Bedfordshire and continuing their development’.