THERE IS virtually no cricketer in Andover below the age of 30 who does not owe a huge thank-you to Liz Hall.

For more than 17 years Liz, pictured, has organised what is probably the most successful colts cricket section in the county.

From one under-15 team in 1985, she has helped transform the set-up into a conveyor belt of cricketing talent which has cemented Andover's place as one of the leading clubs in the Southern League.

This season's workload is fairly typical for Liz - with 143 colt players and around 150 fixtures to organise from under-nines right up to under-18s.

Indeed an average week usually involves overseeing around nine matches.

"The most important thing is to make sure that everyone who wants to gets a chance to play. That is all I try and do," she says.

And Liz goes to any lengths to make sure that everyone gets their chance.

From umpiring, scoring, tea-making, driving, organising tours and making countless phone calls, there is virtually nothing she hasn't done to ensure young people in Andover have every opportunity to play cricket.

She started helping with the colts in the mid-1980s with her son Robert.

"He wanted to become a teacher and used to organise cricket at the green on the Roman Way estate on Sunday mornings and let anyone come along and play," she remembers.

"We had a group of players and from there we just built it up. The only way you are getting to get better at cricket is to play, so I try to arrange as many fixtures as possible for players of all abilities.

"We have never turned anyone away."

Liz believes the key to the success at Andover has been getting parents involved.

"I try and get the parents to help out as much as possible and manage the teams. You need help as transport is probably the biggest problem for colts.

"But it is great to see the players develop and enjoy their cricket, even if they do sometimes move to other clubs."

Liz was deservedly awarded the MBE for her work for Mencap and for promoting cricket several years ago.

Club president Andy Hooper, who has also worked tirelessly to promote colts cricket in Andover, said: "Liz is a wonderful lady and, although she never looks for thanks, we are very grateful for all she has done.

"What we have put in place at Andover with the colts takes a lot of time and effort, but has proved to be worthwhile over time. It is a huge strength of the club."