A thousand youngsters across Birmingham and Warwickshire will receive a free cricket bat as a way to encourage more children into the sport.

Warwickshire County Cricket Club has partnered with Birmingham City Council’s health and wellbeing team, as well as Selco Builders Warehouse, to deliver the plastic bats to local schools, youth clubs and community initiatives.

Children will also be invited to attend free cricket coaching on Friday evenings, where they will also be eligible to take home a bat. In addition, bats will be distributed through the Edgbaston Foundation, which provides support for community projects across the region.

Neil Snowball, Warwickshire chief executive, said the club was “aiming to make the game more accessible to youngsters” and playing with a plastic bat and tennis ball broke down some of the barriers.

“The giveaway is part of a wider initiative to get people of all ages playing the game this summer,” he added.

Birmingham City Council deputy leader Ian Ward said: “This is a great way to get young people across Birmingham into cricket and maybe we’ll encourage a future Warwickshire or even England player to take up the game.”