Up until recent years Sundays at Princess Park during cricket season have usually been left for dog walkers and the occasional pre-season footballers.
However, last Sunday morning it played host to a game of cricket featuring home outfit Shepparton United and Nagambie.
Cars lined the fence, kids with parents sat out on the grass keeping close watch of the on-field action, while the occasional runner and cyclist sped past.
One glance from afar and you would mistake it for any old game of cricket.
A keeper, a bowler, two batters, a couple of umpires and the customary white pants and coloured shirts.
The bowler approaches the crease, sends down a peach of a delivery, the batter strides out with an eye to ― like many before ― send this ball to cow-corner.
It is an ill-fated pre-meditated shot.
The pink Kookaburra takes a turn off the deck, finds the top-edge of the willow and continues its trajectory upwards towards the clouds.
The cries of catch it ring out among the river gums.
A Nagambie fielder jets off to the falling ball as the bowler, the batter and spectators, wait with bated breath to see if the catch attempt is successful.
It is.
Screams of jubilation, triumph, support and laughter reverberate off the trees and echo across the ground.
As expected, grins are plastered across the face of every Nagambie player and supporter.
Surprisingly, the dismissed batter departs the crease joining in on the enjoyment of their opponents, laughing their way back to the sheds.
Over the course of the next 10 overs a total of seven wickets fall, including an incredible direct run-out, a swathe of jaffers and each dismissal followed by howls of excitement.
Yet the loudest roar is saved for a fielder, whose total career games can be counted on one hand, as they dive and stop a certain boundary.
Cheers, whoops and shrieks, that make hairs on the back of your neck stand up, are deafening.
The atmosphere is infectious.
As a neutral onlooker, you can’t help but smile ― it’s safe to say you rarely see this type of environment at a men’s match.
But there is more to this than meets the eye.
These types of scenes are not restricted to Princess Park ― they are happening all across the Goulburn and Murray regions.
A cricketing boom
There is a new tide sweeping over the region.
Riding the coat-tails of the thriving Matildas and women’s sport in general, women’s cricket has boomed this summer with Goulburn Murray Cricket welcoming a host of new outfits this season.
Last year’s flood-affected 2022-23 GMC A-grade campaign featured three teams.
Compare that number this season and it is hard to comprehend it’s the same competition.
A total of 11 teams, 10 clubs in total, are competing this summer and all but three new sides are from neighbouring cricket associations.
Cricket Shepparton outfits Nagambie and Mooroopna have joined alongside Murray Valley Cricket Association club Katamatite, while previous outfits Cooma, Nathalia, Rochester and Bamawm-Lockington United have returned from a hiatus.
Up until last weekend’s round seven matches, the Lakers and Mooroopna were the only unbeaten sides in the competition ― a remarkable feat considering both are in their inaugural seasons.
GMC president Jason Turner has witnessed the women’s competition defy the odds of a worldwide pandemic, devastating floods and player shortages in recent years as it continues to grow and expand.
“We’ve been going for five years now with women’s cricket in the GMC. When it was first set up, it was set it up pretty well and we had a number of women in that older age group,” Turner said.
“I think that’s why some teams go (age profile) and then some come back, but we have now set up an under-15s competition and it gives them a bit of a pathway and sustainability. There’s no point having however many women’s teams if you have no pathway to develop juniors, it’s not sustainable.
“It’s been pretty exciting (this season), obviously we’ve had a couple of clubs change, a few had teams then went away and have come back and then your new clubs in Nagambie, Katty and Mooroopna.
“They’ve all been pretty proactive on the sidelines and all have plenty of numbers and what not. They’ve jumped in feet first and you can’t fault them, they are all enthusiastic, they are all embracing it.
“It’s all exciting and it’s good for the area. It doesn’t matter what association is running it (women’s cricket), it’s great for women wanting to play cricket ... our administrator James Stokes and Kate Carlile have been instrumental in this space, I kind of sit back and let them do their thing.
“It’s really social; all the girls embrace it for what it is, which is they’re just out there having fun.”
New kids on the block
Mooroopna has been a revelation this season.
Following seven rounds of action the Cats are the only unbeaten side left since Nagambie suffered its first defeat of the campaign last Sunday against Shepparton United.
Mooroopna almost missed the cut-off to field a side this season and faced the bye in the first round before it defeated powerhouse club Echuca’s two sides in back-to-back weekends.
More than a third of the Mooroopna squad is teenagers, with majority Notre Dame students and friends.
Bella Woods and Ebony Sleeth, both aged 17, are Mooroopna through and through.
The pair has grown up playing juniors at the club, but in order to do that, has needed to play against boys.
Woods, a skilful opening bowler, highlighted that the in-form Cats have even shocked themselves while relishing the opportunity of playing in a women’s competition.
“We haven’t expected to do so well, it’s shocked everyone,” Woods said.
“Our first game (against Echuca) we didn’t really expect to win, because it’s our first game and they’ve been playing for a while and won a couple of premierships, so we didn’t really expect to win and then we did.
“It’s good to play against girls this year because normally we’ve played against boys and it’s a lot different playing against women, in a good way.
“I think we started when we were 10, there was a girls comp with modified rules. And then we had to go and play in the boys comp, there was no other option because there was no girls teams.”
Sleeth, a talented opening batter, agreed with Woods’ closing sentiments.
“It’s a completely different game,” the youngster said.
“I think the boys just take it a bit too serious, compared to the girls. Last year some boys would come in and bowl bouncers to us and get real smart and the girls just aren’t really like that — it’s a lot more friendly.
“But it can be competitive, especially with some of the older women.”
That adversity against the boys, along with a plethora of talent, looks to have paid off for the young Cats as they sit unbeaten and in equal first spot on the ladder.
But none of this may have happened unless co-coach Jeff Vandermeer didn’t catch wind of the option to field a women’s team.
Vandermeer revealed the club bit the bullet with only eight players when it decided to go ahead with joining the competition.
Sleeth, who’s father Brendan co-coaches alongside “Joffa”, highlighted the club’s foray into the senior women’s fold.
“At the start of the season we weren’t really sure on what to do because we had been playing with the boys and then I don’t really think we thought women’s cricket was an option,” Sleeth said.
“But then Joffa found out about it and got really keen on the idea. They (Joffa and Brendan) love it, they breathe cricket.
“We were scraping for numbers at the start, but now we have so many players, we have 14 now.
“One of the girls played when she was younger and she thought she would give it a crack and she jumped on board ... then Lucy (president Aaron Di Fede’s partner) is giving it a good crack. She’s never played before, but she loves it, absolutely loves it.
“And it’s good because heaps of the senior boys have got around us ... it makes us feel like we belong here.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ marvellous start to life in the competition came to an end during the thrilling loss to Shepparton United.
Much like the Cats, Nagambie had quite a number of players yet to don the whites before.
A full playing side to be exact.
Yet the motley crew ― led by coach Blair Taylor-Lloyd ― has gone from worrying about fielding a side, to worrying about winning games ― and having fun in the process.
“A few of them were a bit scared at the start, but I just said ‘let’s have some fun and see what happens’,” Taylor-Lloyd said.
“To go six and zip, well we’re counting the first one, to be 6-0 from where we were is really good ... we’ve got 13 players and before this season 11 of them hadn’t played cricket before.
“When I heard that I thought, ‘oh, what have I done here,’ but no it’s been great, I’ve loved it.
“At the committee meeting they were looking for a coach and they couldn’t find one and so I stuck my hand up and said I’d give it a crack. Help the club out, make the club better and bring some new people in.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been a part of women’s cricket. It’s surprising how many teams play, but it’s good cricket as well ... hopefully we get a few more sides, but from what I’ve seen so far, there’s good scores each week and some great players.”
The Lakers have their own star player, with captain Kait Carracher a standout performer.
The 32-year-old is the leading run-scorer in the competition and is coming off a match-high half-century knock.
Carracher, a Longwood native, has a cricket career eerily similar to most female cricketers.
The classy middle-order batter gave a glimpse into the life of a cricketer in the booming GMC women’s competition.
“I’m 32 now and women’s cricket when I was 16 and 17 wasn’t a thing. So you played with the boys or you didn’t play at all,” she said.
“My mum tagged me in a post when she saw that Nagambie was starting a women’s cricket team and I jumped straight on it and thought, ‘absolutely, I would love to get back into it’.
“It’s been a really good experience. The teams we have come up against so far, everyone’s keen to have a chat, have a laugh and they’ve all been great.
“There’s been a little bit of gentle sledging, but nothing over the top.
“It really is (a good environment), every time someone retires everyone claps, everyone’s supportive and even when there’s wickets or chances, everyone’s supportive and it’s never nasty towards the others. That’s how we play and that’s how everyone else we have come up against have played as well.
“It’s really encouraging that although we are competitors, we are really supportive of each other as well.”
Winning comes second
Enjoyment seems to be the core element of the GMC women’s competition.
That is evident following a trip to Nagambie on a warm late spring evening as another of the GMC women’s contemporaries hit the nets.
Just like game day, the Lakers train with gusto.
Taylor-Lloyd has been amazed with the commitment and enthusiasm that’s blossomed amongst his squad.
“That’s the main thing, that the girls are getting a hit and having fun,” he said.
“How keen they all are, it’s crazy. I don’t really know too many girls who are this keen in cricket.
“But this bunch here, they want to train every day if they could, so just how keen they are is the best thing.”
At Mooroopna’s training nets, it’s the exact same vibe.
Gentle banter, laughter, not an ounce of negativity and a tenacity to improve.
Woods and Sleeth, playing cricket with most of their best mates, are having a blast.
“We’re all friends at school which helps, well, maybe not for Joffa and Brendan,” Woods said with a laugh.
“We’re all in Year 11 and there’s a few older girls, but most of us all played together through rep cricket and country week.
“It’s fun because we are obviously playing with our friends, but it’s a good way to meet people. We’ve played in Melbourne, so we’ve met a lot of people through cricket.
“A lot of girls our age are sort of scared to give it a go, but just give it a try.
“It looks a lot more boring than it is, but it’s so much fun.”
Even the president of Goulburn Murray Cricket can see where the women’s game is getting things right.
A trip to a GMC women’s contest could be an eye-opener for some men.
“That’s what it is, they’re out there having fun,” Turner said of the level of enjoyment in the women’s game.
“I think it’s what men’s cricket has lost in a way, it’s lost that enjoyment, but with the women, they’re not taking themselves that serious, it’s still serious, but they’re just having a ball out there.
“Don’t get me wrong, men love playing, but I just think that fun and enjoyment isn’t there.”
With the explosion of sides into the competition this summer, it’s exciting to see where the women’s game is heading in the region.
Shepparton United was the trailblazer for women’s cricket in Shepparton and it’s no surprise to see an increase in involvement, especially from Cricket Shepparton clubs, following its runner-up finish last season.
Nagambie’s skipper encouraged more females to have a crack at rolling the arm over and swinging the willow.
“Give it a go, just give it a go,” Carracher said with a grin and an abundance of enthusiasm.
“I know, for a lot of people, their eyes kind of glaze over when you talk about cricket, but especially when you’re playing short games like Twenty20 or 25 overs it’s so much fun.
“You meet some incredible people, you get to do something that you may not have considered in the first hand.
“That sense of team work, community sort of spirit, you might get it in other sports, but cricket is a good one that girls in particular don’t get around much and I’d love to see more kids involved in cricket.”