Yorkshire all-rounder Richard Pyrah and England women’s bowler Katherine Brunt are among the region’s cricket stars supporting a call for primary school teams from Bradford to enter the Drax Cup 2013 - the biggest cricket competition for under-nines in the country.

They took part in a special coaching session with Yorkshire schoolchildren at Headingley Indoor Cricket Centre to promote junior cricket and encourage a record entry for this year’s competition.

Katherine, an ambassador of the Drax Cup, had just returned from playing in the Women’s World Cup in India.

Together with former Woodlands and Pudsey Congs player Pyrah, they were joined by Steve Foster and Mick Brook, employees of cup sponsor Drax who hold coaching badges from the England and Wales Cricket Board, to provide a masterclass in bowling, batting and fielding skills.

Schools need to enter by Friday, March 22.

Registration can be done online at www.thedraxcup.co.uk or by e-mail to register@thedraxcup.co.uk.

Schools can also contact the Yorkshire Cricket Board cricket development manager for their region.

The competition begins after Easter and runs until July.

Teams play in a series of round-robin events to produce four area winners, one from each region of Yorkshire.

These four teams play the Drax Cup 2013 finals at Headingley Carnegie Stadium on Tuesday, July 9, prior to Yorkshire Carnegie v Leicestershire Foxes match in the Friends Life t20.

The competition is organised by The Yorkshire County Cricket Club in conjunction with the Yorkshire Cricket Board and Yorkshire Schools’ Cricket Association.