Clubs working together to get girls involved in cricket

» IT’S been fantastic to see the growth in girl’s cricket in the area over the last few seasons - and the heightened interest in the game was no more evident when Ashton under Hill Under-13s played Dumbleton Under-13s.

The clubs have been working together to encourage girls to come along to play, and there’s been no shortage of interest.

Will Archer, who coaches the girls at Ashton, said: “We’ve been really encouraged to see the girls starting to play together – they seem to enjoy the new way the game is played, as well as having a lot of fun.”

Pitch lengths, playing formats and the number of players in each team have been adapted to make the game more active.

Gone are the days when there’s lots of standing around and the potential to get out first ball.

At the game between Ashton and Dumbleton, all the girls got to bowl a least two overs and bat for four overs, regardless of whether they get out or not.

And with eight players per team, there’s a lot more fielding to do which means the girls are more involved for more of the time.

Guy Stirling-lee, coach at Dumbleton, said: “More than 60 women and girls have played for the club this season and I would encourage any girls who have interest in sport to give cricket a go.

The new formats are really enjoyable and it’s all played in a very sociable and inclusive atmosphere.”

The girls start by playing soft ball cricket and only move on to try hard ball cricket when they feel more confident.

In future, the clubs will play for the Fred Archer Memorial Cup.

Both clubs run coaching sessions for girls on a Friday night at 6.30pm. Email guystirlinglee@gmail.com (Dumbleton) or will@simplysedum.co.uk (Ashton).