A RISING Bolton cricket star helped her side to victory as the best young female cricketers in the country came together for a special tournament.

Daisy Mullan, aged 16, was one of 41 players selected for the 2019 ECB School Games, which saw a T20 competition played at Loughborough University.

Three teams were named after England players Heather Knight, Katherine Brunt and Nat Sciver, the Bradshaw player’s Team Brunt coming out on top.

Four days of cricket saw Mullan and her team-mates not only win the competition but also come through the whole tournament unbeaten.

The Turton School pupil played a key role in that run, her side at 11-5 in their opening game when Mullan was joined by Tamworth CC’s Poppy Davies.

The pair put on 65, the third highest partnership of the event, with Mullan contributing 23 as victory was secured off the penultimate ball of the innings.

In the final, Team Brunt won a high-scoring game against Team Knight with seven balls to spare, a 50 from opener Phoebe Franklin helping them on their way to a six-wicket victory.

Mullan, the Lancashire Under-17s captain, has seen her rise through the ranks continue in recent months, her first-team debut for Bradshaw coming in the ECB National Club Championship second-round victory over Hyde in May.

That made the all-rounder just the third female to play first-team men’s cricket for a Bolton League side, Meg Fairclough and Shachi Pai having represented Egerton and Astley Bridge respectively.

Mullan is an established part of the county set-up and the batting all-rounder has also played for women’s sides in Leigh and Tottington, promoted with the former this summer after hitting two hundreds and one half-century in seven innings in the 2019 season.

A talented sportsperson, she also plays football for Bury FC  women, where she is the first-choice goalkeeper.

On the cricket front, next up for Mullan are the Regional Development Centre trials as she looks to establish herself as one of the top talents in the North West.