Teenager leading out Ashes teams

Sahibba Ali is a patient at the children's kidney unit in Cardiff

A teenager who has been waiting more than a year for a kidney transplant led out the teams for the first Ashes cricket test in Cardiff.

Sahibba Ali, 15, from Newport, was chosen as one of the mascots for the first England-Australia game to take place in Wales.

The 2009 test series started on Wednesday at the 16,000-capacity stadium in Sophia Gardens.

"I'm really excited about the game," said Sahibba, who has kidney failure.

"I love cricket and it's going to be great fun."

The Ashes has always previously taken place on English or Australian turf, and this is the first time a test has been staged in Wales.

The cricket-loving teenager, a patient at the children's kidney unit in Cardiff, met Welsh cricketers Matthew Maynard and Robert Croft when they visited the unit last year.

Kidney Wales Foundation said more than 440 people in Wales were waiting for a kidney transplant, while many hundreds more underwent dialysis because of kidney failure.