GROWING up in Stamford Bridge, Lauren Winfield started playing cricket with boys.

When she began competing, often she was the only girl on the field.

The 25 year old who now captains Yorkshire and was a star of England's recent one day international series whitewash against Pakistan, recalls that even as a young girl, she was the one in charge.

"I was really lucky. The team I played in and the league I played in was really accepting. I used to captain the boys' team at Stamford Bridge - they were always really good with me. It never really put me off."

Which is just as well because Lauren, opening batter and wicket-keeper, is now one of the country's rising sports stars. Not only is she captain of Yorkshire, she has 35 caps for England and is one of a new breed of elite female cricketers who now play professionally.

Lauren and her teammates in the England squad are leading a revolution in women's cricket in the UK. Two years ago the English Cricket Board awarded 18 professional contracts, effectively changing the nature of the women's game forever. Lauren is one of the well-deserved 18 – her hobby has become her job.

Now she earns her living playing the sport she loves and touring the world. As well as turning out for England, she captains Yorkshire Women and plays for the Yorkshire Diamonds in the Super League. Last year, she travelled to Australia to play for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. In her career, she has travelled as far afield as Sri Lanka, New Zealand the Caribbean and South Africa.

She said: "The game has grown massively over the past two years. There are more games on Sky Sports, good female coaches and many of us are going into schools to act as role models.

"There are lots more women and girls in clubs than when I was growing up. When I was younger, I had to play with boys if I wanted a game. There is more opportunity for girls to play in girls' teams and it is about creating opportunities – and we are heading in the right direction."

Luckily for Lauren, her early experiences of playing cricket with boys was a positive one. She first held a bat when she was about five and joined boy players at Stamford Bridge when she was nine. Aged 11, she started playing in girls' teams, starting with the Yorkshire girls' under 13s.

It was at university in Loughborough, where she studied sports and exercise science, that her talent was nurtured further. "The head coach of the cricket academy was Graham Dilley, the former England cricketer. He made me believe I could play at the highest level and guided me."

Lauren's ability was spotted by England cricket scouts and she earned her first cap just weeks after leaving university.

"It was nerve-wracking, but lots of fun," she says. Last month witnessed one of her career highlights when she hit her first century playing for England in a one day international against Pakistan.

Lauren recalls the moment it dawned on her that the ton was imminent. "When I am batting, I try to not to look at the scoreboard. But I was thinking: 'I must be close'. I looked up and saw '92' - then I had a bit of nerves and shaking!"

She steeled herself to get the century - and some: going on to score 123.

It was the culmination of a run of success for Lauren who scored two half-centuries in the T20 series and scooped two player of the month awards.

"It's been really good because I have had a pretty tough six months to a year. I had a dip in form and was in and out of the team. A new coach has come on board and given me lots of opportunities and helped me improve my game," says Lauren.

Significantly, she is back where she likes to be as opening batter rather than in the middle order. "It is the role I have played growing up and it is suited to me. My job is to get the team off to a good start by being attacking and aggressive."

As a professional cricketer, when Lauren isn't playing, she is training. "I train five days a week, doing two sessions of one-to-two hours a day, including physical training and skills training."

Even on her recent week's holiday in Marbella, she took her running shoes with her.

Like many other young women, she enjoys music (she collects vinyl) and going out with her friends. "The thing about being an athlete is that we are real people and do normal things as well. I see friends, go for dinner and out for drinks, just like anybody else, but perhaps more in moderation!"

With her cricket going so well, she hopes she can build on this momentum, particularly with the women's cricket World Cup taking place in England next summer.

"We want to be the best in the world - that is something the team is aspiring to do. We are third in the world at the minute so it is a massive opportunity. We have just started a new era. Some senior players are retiring and we have a younger team. It is very exciting and our ambition is to grow that young team and peak at the World Cup next year.

"We will have home crowds which will be a huge advantage for us and hopefully we can jump on the back of that."

The World Cup will be another opportunity to showcase the women's game - and build on its burgeoning success.

The sport is already drawing large audiences, says Lauren. "Some of us played at the Rose Bowl at Southampton and there were 10,000 people watching. For women's cricket, outside of the Ashes Series, that's a pretty good crowd. We are not packing stadiums yet, but we are moving in the right direction."