The support from CALA Homes (North) has aided the club, which is based on Morningside Road in Aberdeen, to take this significant step forward in its plans to grow women and girls’ cricket in the north east.

Bob Buchan, junior convener of Aberdeenshire Cricket Club, said: “Women and girls’ cricket is the fastest growing area of cricket and its profile is continually being raised through increasing TV coverage of female matches.

“There is now a clear performance pathway for players to progress to international level, underpinning this is a structured competition environment for girls to enter the game and develop their skills.

“With an increasing number of girls attending our junior coaching sessions, Northern Lights will provide an excellent opportunity for women and girls to become involved in cricket. We would like to thank CALA Homes for its support which has been vital in getting the team off the ground.”

Fraser Carr, sales and marketing director at CALA Homes (North), said: “We are delighted to see the creation of Aberdeen’s very first women and girls’ cricket team and are looking forward to supporting them over the next three years.

“This is a very exciting chapter for Aberdeenshire Cricket Club and we are pleased to have the opportunity to be part of it and help enable the club to offer a channel for girls and women to play the sport.”

Northern Lights membership will be open to women and girls from all clubs in the north east to join and will be part of the club’s cricket structure with its own committee and access to the club’s facilities.

Coaching sessions will provide players with the opportunity to train and play with their peer group and will leverage the existing coaching teams’ extensive experience of girl’s cricket.