FORMER England Ladies cricket captain and present national U19 head coach Jane Powell will be flying out to Australia with her squad on Christmas Day.

For Jane, the Sixth Form Annex manager at The Chase, it is the start of a two-month cricket trip that also takes in New Zealand.

Jane said: "We first play in the State Championships and then in two one-day internationals against Australia U19s at Bowral, the home of Aussie legend Don Bradman."

Then, when the U19s return to England, Jane flies over to Christchurch to join up with the England senior squad where she is assistant coach/manager.

The senior squad play a quadrangular one day tournament against Australia, New Zealand and India before returning to Australia to compete in two test matches for the Womens' Ashes.

Jane, who played for the England team from 1979 until 1991, and also captained the team the last three years is obviously looking forward to the trip.

She said: "It would be nice to go over there and redress the balance after the recent weeks but like the men's the Australian ladies' side is still ranked number one in the world.

"The key factor may be it is the first time the U19 squads have met and it would be a big bonus if they can win prior to the senior matches but the game will also give us a good guide for the future."

There are no local girls in the squads at the moment but Jane says that the county has a couple of very promising youngsters who could well play for England in the future as the women's game expands.

Looking forward to a successful trip, Jane said: "I am as always grateful to school for allowing me the time off and if any one wants to keep up with the team's progress the ECB web site might be the best place."