YOUNG cricket players from near Chester have been praised after making it through to the finals of a national competition.

The cricket team from Bunbury Aldersey Church of England Primary School, in Tarporley, were one of 16 teams from across the country taking part in the National Final of Asda Kwik Cricket Competition.

The Year 6 students also received an exclusive coaching session from New Zealand international cricketer Lou Vincent as a prize for winning the regional finals, which took place couple of days before going to the national final in Derby.

Team coach John Hughes said: “Lou was absolutely fantastic and it was a really great experience for the team.”

The 16 schools taking part had been either winners or runners up of their respective regions to qualify for this event, making them the top primary schools in the UK. The competition had started out with 130,000 kids from 12,000 primary schools.

The ECB’s National Kwik Cricket Programme was launched in 1988 and it is the largest grassroots competition in any sport that exists in the UK.