Cricketers all set for Rarotonga
The Waiuku College 1st XI girls cricket team will soon travel overseas for the first time.
The team is heading to Rarotonga in September, where they will compete as part of a sports exchange, against the Rarotongan womens team, club teams and school teams.
Captain Kadia Thornton was one of the students who saw the need for a girls cricket team two years ago and helped round up enough players for a team and got teachers on board with the idea.
The team went from strength to strength and developed into a more competitive team than anyone could imagine. They ended their season on a high, after coming away from the Auckland Secondary Schools Cricket League with a silver medal.
Kadia said the Rarotongan cricketers would notice how much her team had improved, since the Rarotonga development team played in Waiuku, while the Waiuku team was still being established.
‘‘We’ve definitely improved a lot since we played them last time, we are looking forward to having a bit of competition when we go over.
‘‘We do want to do quite well while we’re over there, we’re not going for a holiday, we are there for the cricket.’’
Fellow cricketer Hannah Danes said she and her team mates train on weekends with the Counties Manukau Secondary Schools representative team, which consists largely of Waiuku players.
She added coach Jason Hammersley had played an instrumental part of helping the team get off the ground and was always happy to help, often attending late night trainings, despite having a newborn baby.
‘‘He’s always been there, he’s willing to put in a lot of effort for us - he goes above and beyond.’’
The girls have been fundraising hard for the trip and are on the lookout for more jobs. If anyone in the community has a job for the team, contact Waiuku College.