Two wins mean double the pride for women’s cricket team

TEAM spirit and will power is what it took for the WP Women’s Seniors to win two tough games, making them the pride of the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA).

The Six Gun Grill team beat the North West Dragons 151-108 in the 50 overs and 108 against 104 in Potchefstroom.

“We are extremely proud of what our senior women’s team have achieved last season and for the start to this season.

“There is a lot of cricket to be played, but we have a fantastic mix of young talent and experienced cricketers to challenge for both trophies this season,” said WPCA cricket services manager Clinton du Preez.

This put the team on a fourth win this season, with all games played away from their comfort zone.

“Winning four matches in two formats upfront, away from home, says a lot about the players’ hard work which has been put in during the off season.

“To perform with bat and ball in a season brought forward by a month is something to be proud of.

“It’s now up to us to take this form forward into the rest of the season as our women and U-19s play for a spot in Women’s T20 World Cups next year in South Africa,” added Claire Terblanche, the Six Gun Grill WP women’s coach.

She said the team dominated the last season in their category, which they believe to be an inspirational for aspiring players.

“We came out of the T20 Cup competition unbeaten and were crowned champions for the second year in a row, and finished second in the 50 Over competition.

“This creates more interest from our younger generation, as well as those who are older but want to start playing for fun. We are a strong set-up that feeds into the senior national set-up as well as South Africa’s High Performance and U19 set-up,” she said.

Team captain Leah Jones said the victory did not come easy. “Especially on Saturday, we were in a bit of trouble when we batted, but we had little performances from certain batters and what stood out for me was that even though we lost wickets, the next batter that came in, we still played with good intent and with a purpose to score runs.

“We’re a very close group, know each other very well on and off the field so that also helps us work well together. I’m looking forward to seeing how the T20 and 50 Over competitions will turn out for us after getting such a good start.”