FOUR Worcestershire and Herefordshire schools have been named among the UK's best for cricket in The Cricketer's 2024 Schools Guide.

The Elms School (Colwall, Herefordshire), Malvern College, Malvern St James Girls' School (both Malvern) and Bromsgrove School have been included in this year's guide, produced by The Cricketer magazine, along with Wiltshire's Marlborough College.

The 2024 Schools Guide is a bumper 164-page supplement that's included alongside the December issue of The Cricketer magazine, as well as available to purchase separately on The Cricketer's website.

The guide features the top 100 senior, top 50 prep/junior and top 20 all-girls schools for cricket.

2024's successful roll call of schools – which features both state-funded and private establishments – was finalised after an exhaustive selection process that saw a huge number submit entries for inclusion in the guide.

All entries were then judged against an extensive set of criteria, which included a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.

The Cricketer gathered entries and compiled the leading lists, consulting former England star Lydia Greenway and her coaching initiative Cricket For Girls to select the top 20 all-girls schools.

The Cricketer magazine editor Huw Turbervill said: "Our 2024 Schools Guide celebrates the best cricket programmes in state and independent schools across the country. The rise of women’s cricket in schools really has been a joy to behold. It is a pleasure to read the write-ups."