BUDDING young cricketers have reaped the benefit of a scheme designed to improve their skills.

Durham County Cricket Club has helped 500 youngsters with its roadshow, which toured Northumberland and County Durham, taking quality coaching into the community.

The scheme, in its second year, is aimed at beginners and improvers and helps the club find talent for its junior squads. It was funded with £9,000 given by opencast mining firm H J Banks and the Government's Sportsmatch project, which adds to money given by companies for grassroots sports events.

HJ Banks' secretary David Martin said: "It is great for us to be involved with the development of local talent and, hopefully, some of the stars of the future.''

Nick Brown, the club's cricket development officer, said: "The roadshow has grown this year with more venues and children participating. Next year we plan to expand again and we are grateful to H J Banks and Sportsmatch for helping us do so."