91Èȱ¬

Essex Women's cricket players have met up with members of the Essex Rebels basketball squad for the first time under a partnership announced earlier this year.

The county will host one of eight fully professional teams as part of a revamp of the domestic women's cricket structure.

And the squad will be able to use the University of Essex's Colchester campus, also the home of the Rebels basketball and volleyball teams, as a training base.

"It’s great to have a partnership with the University, and I think it gives us a bit of a competitive edge moving forward," said head coach Andy Tennant.

"We’re really excited to be part of this partnership and speaking to the basketball and volleyball coaches – just chewing the fat, it’s been brilliant.

"Understanding what they do from a performance analysis point of view, especially with match-ups, is really useful."

The new domestic structure will see the eight women's teams compete alongside their male counterparts in the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup next summer.

Essex are continuing to finalise their squad, with 12 players already signed up, and have also made a number of coaching appointments, including former Kent and Leicestershire all-rounder Darren Stevens.

Most of the players appeared for the Sunrisers regional side who won the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy this summer.

Essex Rebels play in the Women's Basketball League and made their debut in 2018-19.

Great Britain international Clare Paxton gave the cricketers a tour of the facilities, including a performance analysis suite, and team-mates passed on their experiences after seven years as a professional squad.

"This collaboration marks an exciting step forward, and we look forward to building on this partnership in the months to come," said Rebels manager Diana Voynova.