Hankins to give up Northamptonshire captaincy

Patricia Hankins plays club cricket for Burton Latimer

Patricia Hankins is to stand down as captain of Northamptonshire Women after 14 seasons in the role.

Although the county was not chosen by the England and Wales Cricket Board to host one of eight professional tier-one sides from 2025, Hankins believes changes in the game mean it is the right time for her to bow out.

The 35-year-old also works for the club as community and partnerships manager for the Steelbacks Foundation charity.

"Now, a girl playing for the under-11s or 13s can actually strive to be a professional cricketer - I just wish that if I was 20 years younger, those opportunities would have been there for me, but everything evolves, doesn't it?" she told BBC Radio Northampton's The Cricket Show.

The domestic women's game will change next summer with regional sides like Southern Vipers, Sunrisers and The Blaze replaced by fully professional tier-one counties - Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire.

Northamptonshire were among the clubs who applied to host a tier-one side, with participation in the game by women and girls in the county having increased by 160% last year.

They now hope to be included in a second group of semi-pro sides, with tier three being fully amateur.

"I believe that if Northamptonshire are successful with tier two, we'll get some money from the ECB to put in a head coach and also some strength and conditioning and backroom staff," said Hankins, who has played for the county for 23 years.

"Any players in tier two that are strong enough will feed into tier one, but each tier has academies underneath so their youth players, they'll obviously work towards the first XI.

"Some of our Northants women are in Sunrisers or Blaze academies and I think it's going to be very similar."

With games against Shropshire and Norfolk rained off last weekend, Hankins is now unlikely to reach the milestone of 200 matches for the club.

She added: "I don't think I'm going to make it after the two rained-off games. It is what it is, I can't control the rain. I will still play but just club level."

Northants Women are next in action against Lincolnshire at Geddington CC on 30 June.