GOOGLIES and Chinamen look set to be bowled on the streets of Worcester in an action-packed afternoon of cricket next month.

An area outside Crowngate in Angel Place will be transformed into a cricket field for five hours on Tuesday, July 19 from 2.30pm.

Worcestershire Street Sixes will involve soft balls and teams of six to show cricket can be played anywhere and brings diverse groups of people together.

The QualitySolicitors Parkinson Wright Worcestershire Street Sixes is also raising funds to allow Worcestershire Cricket Board Limited (WCBL) to take the sport into disadvantaged communities.

Tom Hill, the WCBL cricket development director, is the brains behind the event.

"It will be a six-a-side competition, played with softballs, plastic stumps, bats and plenty of banter,” explained Hill.

"Teams will get invited to a launch event at New Road on July 7 where they can play on the outfield and learn all the rules of the competition, with a little coaching available to those who need it.

"The format is for anyone from your office cleaner to your chief executive, men and women, and will be ideal for people who want to network, whilst having fun and making a difference."

The event aims to bring companies from across the county to take part in a fun and fast format pitched at all sexes and abilities, from complete beginners to past cricketers.

Matches will last for 45 minutes and The Boston Tea Party will provide free tea and cake for all teams competing.

Hill said: "At the cricket board, we are here to take cricket to as many people as possible.

"We are trying to alter the stereotype view where people think of cricket as a game of 'hard ball, whites, pads, a village field' when in fact cricket is a game that is accessible to so many different people.

"For us, this is all about raising awareness and changing perceptions, hence the reason we will be playing cricket in one of the busiest streets in Worcester."

The cost is £210 per team and includes shirts and an after tournament party at Browns Restaurant.

The closing date to enter a team is June 30 and for more details go to: http://www.worcestershirestreetsixes.co.uk/