Yvonne Tweddle leads 53-seat Edgbaston tribute for Icc Women's T20 World Cup
The England and Wales Cricket Board unveiled 53 purple seats at Edgbaston ahead of the icc women's t20 world cup starting on Friday, using the ground’s stands to spotlight women who have shaped the game. One of the people recognised was Yvonne Tweddle, a volunteer groundskeeper at Kings Bromley Cricket Club near Lichfield.
Yvonne Tweddle at Edgbaston
Tweddle said she felt the recognition carried weight because it brought women’s work in cricket into view. “I feel really honoured to be part of the group [and] bringing us together is quite a powerful thing to do,” she said.
Her route into the sport began through her family more than a decade ago. She started at the club as a safeguarding officer before volunteering on the ground itself, a path that moved her from a support role into hands-on work at the club.
53 purple seats at Edgbaston
The seats form part of an ECB initiative set up to celebrate the contribution women have made to cricket since 1973. The campaign is aimed at showing women and girls that opportunities exist not only as players, but also as coaches, volunteers and grounds staff.
Tweddle said that visibility could change who steps forward next. “I think for young women and girls coming into the game, hopefully we're a shining example that you can have a go,” she said. “You can do something, you can be part of it, be it the male or female side of the game.”
Warwickshire cricket growth
Gemma Barton said the women recognised by the project had already changed the game in different ways, from winning the World Cup to shifting policy and making cricket more inclusive. “These women all have moments [where] they have created change within the game,” she said.
She added that the aim was to widen access at community level, and linked the tribute to broader participation growth. “We're seeing astronomical growth in the women's and girls' game, and it's really important for us that we have more women and girls playing cricket at every single level,” she said.
Fidelis Navas said Warwickshire Cricket Foundation had seen a 75% increase in the number of women and girls fixtures in Warwickshire alone. For the clubs and volunteers already inside the game, the message from Edgbaston is direct: the pathway now reaches beyond the scoreboard, and the next people to take it up are the ones walking in from the sidelines.
