WORCESTERSHIRE Cricket Board are setting up their fourth Wicketz hub and the first in Worcester.

It will start at Nunnery Wood Sports Complex, Spetchley Road, on January 5 with sessions on Fridays from 6pm until 7pm.

They are open to children aged eight to 16.

Worcestershire Cricket and Warwickshire Cricket Board launched the programme, funded by the Lord’s Taverners, 12 months ago to take cricket to disadvantaged communities.

Wicketz have had 175 children sign up across the three centres and the Worcester hub follows set-ups in Dudley, Redditch and Birmingham.

Harry Kitchen, Wicketz development officer for Worcestershire Cricket, said: “After the success the first three hubs had, there were plenty of organisations who wanted to help but couldn’t do it because there was no hub in Worcester.

"So we decided to implement a new hub in Worcester with the view of getting help from them and build a new community of cricket-interested kids in the area.

“We felt the location was best suited for the hub because of the amount of schools and community groups it can link with.”

Worcestershire Cricket hope to talk with potential parties or local companies who would like to help the project grow in stature.

Tom Hill, cricket development director at Worcestershire Cricket, said: “We're delighted to have secured funding for the fourth hub.

"We organised Worcestershire Street Sixes for the second year running on a bigger scale and I would like to thank all the businesses and organisations who participated in making it a success.

"This is another project we aim to deliver in line with our promise to ignite a lifelong passion for cricket among all communities.”

Kitchen added: “We are really pleased with how well Wicketz has taken off and surprised we have moved so quickly in securing the fourth hub.

“We hope it will be a success just like the other three and help us continue our plan of taking cricket to the deprived areas in the county over the next three years and beyond.”