Cumbria’s new women’s cricket team is prepared for their first home game, amid significant new investment.
A new era has dawned for women’s cricket in Cumbria, thanks to a new national women’s county structure reflecting the growth in the game in recent years.
“It’s really exciting. I’ve played for Cumbria since I was 12, but I have never seen as much investment in Cumbria women,” said 22-year-old Meg Smith from Barrow, a batting all-rounder who plays her club cricket with Lindal.
That new investment started before Christmas with Cumbria Cricket casting the net widely to recruit and then select 20 players into the new senior women’s squad. They will play in both T20 and 50-over formats in Division 2 of Tier 3 in the new national structure.
Unlike previously, when Cumbria women only attended county training during the winter, the investment means year-round training for all the players, on top of the training and matches they play at their clubs. In addition, there will be a team bus to take players to matches and kit is provided for the players, which all previously had to be funded from the players’ own pockets.
This investment and the resulting competition for places has brought Sarah Earl back into playing for Cumbria. “I had dropped out of playing for the Cumbria senior women’s team a few years ago, but there’s such a growth in the game now, with women’s cricket having a profile nationally,” she said. “I am excited about new league structure, giving us good competitive games.”
Sarah, a regular at Kendal Cricket Club, has been appointed captain. “It will be a challenge, but we have talented players, really exciting talent in the squad who will be earning a right to wear this shirt,” she added.
One of the younger players in the squad is 17-year-old Elsie Fox, a seam bowler from Whitehaven. She plays for Workington CC and also attends Yorkshire Cricket College. She says she is playing to a “different standard thanks to the intensive training since the winter.”
She would love to play for England one day, but for now her ambition is to secure a place in the Cumbria team. “I’ve always loved the competition and pressure; to play in this open age team will be amazing,” said Elsie. “I’ve been really good friends with the others coming up through the ranks, but now we’re competing against each other for places!”
Overseeing the new squad is Head Coach Dave Fallows, the Head of Performance Pathway at Cumbria Cricket.
“We want equality, for this team to be comparable to the Cumbria men’s team, with players selected on merit,” he said. “They are not ‘girl cricketers’ they are ‘cricketers’’, they are all athletes, and we are picking the best.”
This step up in investment has in part been funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board, and in part by securing sponsorship.
Phil Collier, of Phil Collier Associates in Barrow, believes this squad deserve backing.
“I wanted to put money where it will make a difference. It is important to support grassroots sport and boost female participation,” Phil said.
Another sponsor, 315 Health Club and Sweat at Lancaster, is owned by partners David Whittaker and Sean Thornton. Sean Thornton said: “Our philosophy is to develop programmes to increase active living, catering for all age groups from complete beginners to world-class athletes. These players are our stars of tomorrow, so we are proud to be involved.”
After an initial game, away at Shropshire in the 50-over Cup competition, the team will be at Barrow CC on 27th April for their first home games, welcoming Herefordshire to the Ernest Pass Memorial Groundfor back-to-back matches in the Vitality Blast T20 competition.
Play is due to begin at 10.30 am for game 1, with the start time for the second game dependent on the duration of the first. As lunch will be taken between the games it is expected the second game will start at 2.30 pm but this may change on the day.
The new tier structure is a bit of an unknown, but Head Coach Dave Fallows is upbeat.
“It is genuinely exciting; it’s the start of a new journey,” he said. “We have the potential to challenge as a county, thanks to all the work that they are going to put in as a squad.”
Meg Smith, the new vice-captain agrees, saying: “We have never played together as a team, we don’t know the opposition, it’s a learning curve and an exciting challenge!”
