Celebrating women's cricket through live performance

ITV Central reporter Ravneet Nandra looks at the importance of cricket among women and girls in the Midlands

The commonwealth games is extra special this year. Not only because it'll be hosted in our region, but it will debut four new sports, including Women's cricket T20 for the very first time.

To celebrate this milestone, everyday women in and around Birmingham have been putting on live, immersive performances about women and girls' lives and aspirations, both on and off the cricket pitch.

It also hopes to inspire more south asian women into cricket as part of the Dream Big Desi Women project.

A Thousand Threads is a Women & Theatre production.

It's aim was to bring together community performers from across Birmingham and Sandwell and choreograph live performances et to unique soundscapes of words and music.

Janice Connolly, Artistic Director of Women & Theatre said: "There was an opportunity to get recorded because the script is being completely voiced by community members.

"The audience didn't know what to expect because it's an unusual thing we're doing.

"They've loved watching the bits of cricket but also really love some of the stories and some of the messages in it which were about doing our best, playing our part in the game, looking at achievements and looking at things taking a long time.

A Thousand Threads worked in partnership with the Dream Big Desi Women Project to inspire more women from south asian backgrounds to take up cricket, and then participate in the performances.

Jasu Bokhira, an activator for the project said: "I hope, as a legacy, that women will think they can play cricket and they can do whatever they want.

"South asian women are not just for the kitchen, cooking, cleaning and being a housewife.

"They can go out there and they can have dreams, and they can make things big and have a good go at cricket as well.