MCC is delighted to today announce the winner and runners-up of its Young Female Broadcaster of the Year 2025 competition ahead of the Women’s England v India Metro Bank ODI at Lord’s.

First launched last year, the competition, supported by Sky Sports and leading cricket charity Take Her Lead, aims to increase opportunities for young women aspiring to build a career in sports broadcasting, while uncovering and supporting the next generation of female broadcasting talent in cricket.

Recent data from the National Council for Training of Journalists (NCTJ) shows encouraging growth in the number of females registering for NCTJ-accredited sports journalism courses across the UK, rising from 14% in 2022/23 to 20% for 2023/24. However, this still falls short of the target 25%, highlighting the ongoing underrepresentation of women in journalism and sports media.

The competition also comes at a time of remarkable growth for women’s and girls’ cricket. In 2024, 15 match days at Lord’s featured women’s cricket, and looking ahead to 2026, the ground will host its first-ever women’s Test match between England and India, before welcoming the ICC Women’s World Cup final.

Following strong interest in the competition and many incredibly high-quality showreel submissions, the judging panel selected Helen Trappelides as the winner.
The panel included Director of Cricket & NFL at Sky Sports Bryan Henderson, Broadcaster and Founder of Take Her Lead Isa Guha, MCC Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Katie Maier, commentator & broadcaster Georgie Heath, journalist & broadcaster Alison Mitchell as well as broadcaster & Chair of MCC Mark Nicholas.

Helen Trappelides is a 20-year-old English Literature student at the University of Warwick, originally from London, and a true lover of all sports. She discovered her passion for cricket in school and truly embraced the sport last year, joining the University of Warwick Women’s Cricket Club, representing the team in BUCS Midlands Tier 1 matches.

Alongside cricket, Helen has developed a strong interest in sports media. She writes for The Boar, Warwick’s student newspaper, and was recently elected Publicity and Campaigns Officer for the cricket club. Passionate about making sports media more inclusive, especially for women, Helen hopes to one day host her own sports show.

Helen is thrilled to be named the 2025 MCC Young Female Broadcaster of the Year, an opportunity that will allow her to grow her skills, gain experience, and combine her love of sport with impactful storytelling.

MCC is also delighted to announce the five shortlisted runners-up; Lara Davies, Sharon Akrofi, Syeda Rizvi, Polly Starkie and Catherine Johnson, all of whom were highly praised by the judges and invited to Lord’s for the day.
During her visit to Lord’s, Helen, alongside four runners up, enjoyed a tour of Lord’s and the iconic Barclays Media Centre, a look behind the scenes in the Sky commentary box with cricket and broadcasting star, and Take Her Lead patron Mel Jones.  The group also got to spend time with the Take Her Lead team, including founder and broadcaster Isa Guha and 2024 winner Regina Suddahazai, gaining valuable insight into the broadcasting world and the opportunity to ask questions. They were then joined by broadcaster and competition judge Georgie Heath for another session on new media and at a later date the group will have a virtual broadcasting workshop with top cricket broadcaster Alison Mitchell.

As the winner of the competition, Helen took part in live interviews on Sky Sports Cricket with Mel Jones and BBC Test Match Special with 2024 winner Regina Suddahazai and MCC Chief of Marketing and Communications Katie Maier. Helen then headed to the Presidents Suite to enjoy hospitality for the rest of the day.

Helen will return to Lord’s to receive an unrivalled opportunity to join the Sky Sports team for live broadcast coverage at The Hundred Final on Sunday 31 August 2025. 

Helen said, "I'm incredibly grateful and honoured to be named the 2025 MCC Young Female Broadcaster of the Year. My goal is to share my love for cricket and sports media in a way that informs, excites, engages and inspires audiences, bringing stories and analysis to life while building a meaningful career in the field. I hope to show that your voice matters, no matter your background or experience, as long as you bring passion and drive. Winning the competition is a huge step toward turning that dream into reality."

Katie Maier, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at MCC, said: “For the second year running, we’ve seen some very strong submissions with a wide range of broadcasting skills, experience and talent. This clearly demonstrates that there’s a lot of interest to enter the industry and how important this competition is. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming the runners up and winner to Lord’s for what I am sure will be an invaluable day of experience for them”.

Take Her Lead Patron, Mel Jones said: “At Take Her Lead, we believe in the power of women’s voices to shape narratives, challenge perspectives, and inspire change. This initiative isn’t just about creating opportunities — it’s about breaking down barriers so that the next generation of female broadcasters are supported to lead with confidence and impact."

Bryan Henderson, Director of Cricket & NFL at Sky Sports, added: “We are delighted to welcome Helen to join our team at The Hundred Final. Thank you to MCC and Take her Lead for such an inspiring competition”.