Members of an over-50’s walking cricket club say the sport has given them a new lease of life.

Madhu Patel, 72, attends two training sessions a week at Tipton Leisure Centre, in the West Midlands, and described them as a “massive opportunity” to get fit after two knee operations.

Sport England has provided the club with equipment and will be funding other projects in the Black Country to encourage exercise – 34.8% of adults in the region are classed as inactive.

The organisation has launched a £250m scheme to provide funding to 53 high-need areas in England to remove barriers to physical activity and to help people from lower socio-economic backgrounds as well as Black and Asian communities.

Community cricket development officer Pravin Patel runs the 90-minute walking cricket sessions, which he started at the centre in 2023.

He told BBC Midlands Today that he had encouraged people to sign up to be more active after the pandemic.

“Cricket was the easiest sport to pick, and it’s also one you can play with any ability,” he said.

“The majority [of members] are South Asian ladies, and in the past they’ve had this taboo of not playing sports, but when it came to cricket, I’ve got 45 ladies on the books.”

Among them is Mrs Patel, who said: “I’ve had two knee operations, and this has given me an opportunity to continue with my fitness, and now I’m thinking, I can carry on and sustain this.

“We’ve all retired, so we have plenty of time on our hands to keep fit, to be motivated, and to do all the wonderful things with all these wonderful people.”

Members said they enjoyed the physical and social benefits of the training sessions.

Uma Patel said the sessions helped her get out of the house, meet people do something she really enjoyed.

Pravin Patel added: “I used to play cricket when I was at school so when I started here it brought me back memories.”

Sport England revealed that the Black Country was the most inactive partnership area in the country, with one of the factors being high levels of deprivation.

It said this has had an impact on women, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and Black and Asian communities, who were already the least likely to be physically active.

Other areas in the West Midlands in the country-wide £250m funding scheme, which tailors activities to diverse communities, include:

• Dudley
• Sandwell
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Walsall
• Wolverhampton

They were chosen for being in the top 10% for inactivity – which meant a high number of adults in the area did less than 30 minutes of physical activity in a week.

The amount each region will receive will be decided through consultation in the coming months.

So far the scheme has introduced free bikes in Birmingham, community activities for refugees in Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, and post-surgery rehab in South Tees.

Sport England said the project was already making an impact, with inactivity in disabled people in Withernsea in East Yorkshire dropping by 29%, and children’s activity in Doncaster in South Yorkshire up by 12%.