WOMEN'S International cricket returns to the Cooper Associates County Ground at Taunton on Sunday, May 26, when England play against Pakistan in a 50 over One Day International starting at 11am., writes Richard Walsh.

The match is the second in the three match series, the first taking place at Derby on May 23 while the third is scheduled to be played at Chelmsford on May 29.

Somerset were one of the first counties to embrace the women’s game and the County Ground has regularly hosted women’s internationals since the 1990s.

Former England captain Charlotte Edwards, who is one of the icons of the women’s game, explained the reason Taunton is such a popular venue among the players.

“There seems to be a genuine love for the game here from the fans and of women’s cricket. You feel quite close to the fans as a player so its lovely place to play. Everyone loves to come back to Taunton and hopefully it’s a place they will continue to keep on coming.”

“I have played a lot here over the years and it has always been a favourite ground of mine. I have scored a lot of runs here including my first century and won a lot of games for England here. It’s a special ground and it’s always lovely to come back.

“The game has developed so much since I started to play and it’s very different now. It has moved at a rapid rate in the last 10 years and we have all been lucky enough to have been on that journey with the game."

The former England skipper added: “Somerset were one of the first counties to recognise women’s cricket; they supported it and they invested which was so important and we are really thankful for what they have done down here to support the women’s game.”

There is likely to be a strong local interest in the ODI between England and Pakistan because the home side is likely to feature two players who appear for Western Storm - Lauren Filer who grew up playing her cricket at Weston super Mare and Danni Gibson who hails from Cheltenham.

Cricket at the Cooper Associates County Ground is all about families. To help introduce the next generation of cricket lovers to the game, it is once again offering a special Family Ticket for this match.This enables two children (U16) to go to the game for free with two paying adults.

In addition for those who want to attend the match with a group of friends, colleagues or team mates a group discount is also available.

For more details about purchasing tickets log onto www.somersetcountycc.co.uk