Sport
Gallery | Youth girls cricket gala day goes off with a bang, filling organisers with confidence of kick-starting a new competition
Girls in the Goulburn Valley aren’t just hitting boundaries — they’re pushing them in all the right directions.
On Sunday, a flock of keen female pre-teens — and some slightly older — mixed and mingled at a free youth girls cricket gala day at Vibert Reserve, serving as a curtain-raiser to the Goulburn Murray Cricket senior women’s season opener.
The two-hour session was split between six drills, focusing on the fundamentals; batting, bowling and fielding with a game at the end to cap it all off.
Senior women’s players from Shepparton Youth Club United, Mooroopna and Kyabram pitched in, lending their expertise to the fledgling talents before padding up for their own games.
Andrew Hawker, who helped organise the day, said the event could not have run smoother.
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Shepparton’s Shirlyn Maina (12) winds up a wicked out-swinging delivery. Photo by Holly DanielImage 2 of 7
Kialla’s Olivia White (13) bowls a ball angling in towards the stumps. Photo by Holly DanielImage 3 of 7
Katandra’s Danica Binger (12) displays great seam bowling technique on the wicket. Photo by Holly DanielImage 4 of 7
Shepparton’s Ellie Jaskolski (11) learns from Shepparton United captain Lia Beecroft. Photo by Holly DanielImage 5 of 7
Shepparton’s Amelia Pattison (8) watches the ball into her hands. Photo by Holly DanielImage 6 of 7
Melbourne Renegades fan engagement officer Ben White at the Classic Catches inflatable. Photo by Holly DanielImage 7 of 7
Youth girls committee member Andrew Hawker hands out some bowling advice. Photo by Holly Daniel“I was overwhelmed with the response,” he said.
“We ended up having 33 girls in attendance and that’s 33 girls who weren’t playing cricket from Saturday.
“That buy in gave me a lot of confidence that we’re doing the right thing. The weather was brilliant, it was a great day, it was 100 per cent successful.
“We now just wait for our second session and then launch into a competition.”
Another gala day will run on October 27 at Tatura’s Frank Howley Oval with the aim of building a youth girls cricket competition off the back of it.
Hawker is part of an unofficial committee mostly made up of passionate parents who hope to give girls a fresh option when it comes to playing the sport.
He believes they’re not far off from the first toss, either.
“We’re looking at a Sunday morning competition; what that looks like will be dictated by our next session,” Hawker said.
“If we get the same numbers again, I’m very pigheaded that we’re going to launch it.
“I’m thinking Sundays is the window, but the girls need to tell us what they want.”
Hawker is pitching a modified, condensed version of the game where girls turn up, are split into teams and play on a Sunday morning.
That is the blue print for the first season, at least.
Deviating from club land seems to be where Hawker and the committee have landed to get the ball rolling on the comp, but he said the main goal was for girls to enjoy themselves.
“There’s a winner and a loser, but it’s more that social aspect for me, that’s massive,” he said.
“It’s fun and it’s fast — you’re not standing there for 20 overs doing nothing, you’re batting and bowling and we’re moving the game along quickly.
“The good news is they can do both — they can play with us in our competition and then go and play senior women’s as well.
“This competition that we’re doing is purely just another option for girls, it’s not all in or nothing.”
Hawker also said the committee had “a couple of sticks in the fire” regarding partnering with businesses, but it’s also looking for a naming rights sponsor for the junior boys and youth girls competitions.