Join a cricket summer camp

England's Paul Collingwood drops in on a MCC camp

With the cricket season well underway, more and more people are taking up cricket across the country.

The Marylebone Cricket Club, commonly known as the MCC, is the body which looks after the laws of the game.

And the Spirit of Cricket Challenge is the MCC's scheme to introduce cricket and the values of the game to a wider audience.

The MCC will host a series of three-day summer camps for children between the ages of 9-12 who are new to the game.

Qualified coaches will be on hand to teach the basics, as well as cricket development officers to pass on information about how to start playing the game in the local area.

Each participant will receive a bag of goodies, including a t-shirt, hat and a cricket game, along with the opportunity to meet a cricket star.

Find a local cricket club

And there is also the chance to win cricket prizes - family tickets to the C&G final at Lord's will be among the giveaways on offer.

The camps cost £12 for three days. To sign up, e-mail [e-mail] or call 020 7291 8332 for an application form.

The forms will need to be completed and signed by a parent or guardian.

AUGUST

Yorkshire
1-3: The Kings High School, Mill Lane, Pontefract, Yorkshire

Berkshire
2-4 August: Purley-on-Thames CC, The Recreation Ground, Goosecroft Lane (off Beech Road), Purley On Thames, Reading, Berkshire, RG8 8DR

Newcastle
7-9: Benwell Football Centre, Gibside Gardens, Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 7PP

Lancashire
8-10: Skelmersdale CC, Address TBC

Devon
9-11: Exeter Cricket Club, The County Ground, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4RP

Herefordshire
14-16: The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat, Hampton Dene Road, Tupsley

Mid-Glamorgan
15-17: Tondu CC, Address TBC

Hertfordshire
16-18: St Clement Danes School, Chenies Road, Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, WD3 6EW

Hampshire
22-24: Abbottswood School Ringwood Road, Totton, Southampton SO40 8EB

Kent
22-24: Kent County Ground, Worsley Bridge Road, Beckenham, Kent

Norfolk
23-25: Taverham Hall School, Taverham Hall School, Norwich, NR8 6HU