Amy Wheeler has signed a rookie contract for The Blaze, in partnership with the ACE Programme.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old has recently concluded her fourth year in The Blaze Academy, having joined Lightning\u2019s pathway in 2021.<\/p>\n
The deal will see the ACE Programme – a charity whose aim is to \u2018support diverse talent from the grassroots to the elite\u2019 – fund the initial contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmy is a game-defining cricketer with a really high ceiling, which makes this signing really exciting,\u201d Cain Hamilton-Boyle, The Blaze’s Senior Regional Talent Manager, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe bowls at a high speed which gives her a point of difference, and has a good skillset. She is a strong fielder with a great arm, too, and also has the ability to strike the ball cleanly with the bat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer attitude matches her technical abilities – she\u2019s responded to the challenges she\u2019s been presented with in recent years really well, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing where she goes with her cricket in the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wheeler, who began her cricketing journey in the Staffordshire pathway, has taken 24 wickets for the Academy across the past two summers.<\/p>\n
She represented England at last winter\u2019s inaugural Women\u2019s European Cricket Championship in Malaga.<\/p>\n
Wheeler will become one of the first two players supported into professional cricket by the ACE Programme, which was set up by Ebony Rainford-Brent in 2020 to address the decline in minority representation in the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud to work with the ACE Programme to give Amy the opportunity she deserves,\u201d James Cutt, Director of Cricket, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe charity works exceptionally hard to provide equal opportunity, and aligns with our ambition to afford players of high potential the chance to establish themselves in the professional game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmy has been in our system for a number of years, and Cain, alongside our coaching team in our pathway, deserve credit for their role in her development so far. We\u2019re delighted she\u2019ll be able to dedicate herself to cricket full time to keep improving.\u201d<\/p>\n