Ms Villiers attended the Girls’ Chance to Compete Regional Finals, hosted by the Durham Cricket Foundation at the Banks Homes Riverside Ground.
Twelve state school teams from Durham, Northumberland, and Yorkshire took part in the event, which offered young players the rare opportunity to compete on a professional pitch.
Twelve state schools attended the event (Image: Supplied)
Mady Villiers, who plays for England and is part of Durham’s first women’s team, met the players and shared her own cricketing journey.
Ms Villiers said: “Everyone is incredibly talented here and it’s great to see that the standard of cricket is rising.
“One of the first games of cricket that I actually played would have probably been a Chance to Shine game so to see these girls playing games that I would have been taking a part of is really nice to see.Mady Villiers at the crease (Image: Supplied)
“To be able to come to days like these and show girls that you can look up to female role models is special because when I was their age I probably didn’t – it would have been the male side of the game that would have been my role model.
“(Now) these girls can see that it is a potential career.”
The finals were the culmination of weeks of regional competition, with the winning teams earning the chance to play at the Riverside.King’s Priory School took first place in the under-13 category (Image: Supplied)
Graeme Weeks, chief executive officer at Durham Cricket Foundation, said: “To play on this ground, meet a professional player and represent their schools – it’s a day many of these young girl cricketers will never forget.
“We are so proud to have been able to put on a day like this for them.”
The event is part of Chance to Shine’s secondary state schools girls’ competition programme, which promotes cricket as a way to build life skills such as teamwork and leadership.
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James Hendry, operations manager at Chance to Shine – North and Scotland, said: “Playing in such an inspiring setting – with Durham’s own Mady Villiers on hand to support and cheer on the players – brought an extra touch of magic to the day.”
Kings Priory School took first place in the under-13 category, with King Ecgbert School finishing second.
In the under-15 competition, Richmond School claimed the top spot, followed by Mercia School in second and Kings Priory School in third.