Central Sparks is a sporting centre of excellence for high-performance, professional cricketers, featuring the best female players from the West Midlands region covering Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. As one of eight regional hubs, Central Sparks, led by former England player Laura MacLeod, will provide a basis for player development encouraging international success whilst also delivering a performance programme at Academy and Energing Player level, aimed at nurturing a breadth of local talent, creating future stars of the game. The structure was unveiled in October 2019 as part of the ECB’s ten-point action plan for transforming Women’s and Girls’ Cricket with the fundamental goal of making cricket a gender-balanced sport.