Over the Winter, women’s club teams from all over Warwickshire have been competing in an indoor cricket league. Sunday 10th April saw not only the final league match between Bedworth CC and Kings Heath CC but also the grand final between Moseley Ashfield CC and Hampton and Solihull CC, held at Lode Heath School in Solihull.
Bedworth CC (191) v Kings Heath CC (250)
I spoke to the women’s coach at Bedworth CC, Ben Hughes, ahead of the match. Over the past few months, he had observed that there was a large amount of participation from all ages but especially teenagers. He said, “it was great to see so many teenagers, it’s good to see them staying in sport and being involved in cricket”.
Bedworth’s women’s section has only existed for a short time, hence having fewer experienced players. Before the match, I asked Ben who we should look out for as spectators, he said “Becky! In her first week, she had not played before and didn’t have a run up to her bowling at all. She took four wickets in the semi-final recently and as you will see today, she does a full run up and bowls really well. It’s been amazing to see the improvements in the whole team across the tournament”.
Ben also told me that this league has allowed players to be more independent and make decisions as a team about their bowling order, batting pairs and fielding positions which he hopes will transfer to the summer, outdoors.
An aspect of women’s cricket that I really enjoy is the environment that is created and theconsistent encouragement regardless of how the game is going. Throughout the game, I
constantly heard shouts of “nice shot Amy” or “bowling Abi” and even when there were drop catches, I would hear “next ball” or “don’t worry”. My favourite example of this was when a catch
was dropped by Bedworth and another player shouted, “bad luck, next ball” and on the next ball, the batter played the identical shot and the catch was taken!
There was some excellent fielding on display from both teams but in particular Amy Blackledge from Kings Heath CC who did a few amazing run outs and despite being a wicket keeper, took two wickets in her bowling spells.
At the end of the match, both teams got together and spoke through the match and gave feedback to the other team and discussed what they would learn from each other. I’ve never seen something like this happen before but especially for a match up such as Bedworth and Kings Heath – a fairly new team and a quite experienced team – I thought it was quite valuable and is important for teams making connections across the region who may be playing each other for the first time.
Moseley Ashfield CC (208) v Hampton and Solihull CC (258)
The match between Moseley Ashfield CC and Hampton and Solihull CC was the grand final of the league and it was all to play for. Ahead of the match, I briefly spoke to Moseley Ashfield player, Gurby Evans who told me that she was “very nervous” for the game. She had no need to be because within the first few deliveries, she did an incredible direct hit resulting in the opposing team to lose five points very quickly.
I found out after the match that Moseley Ashfield have not had much coaching at all and across the winter, this tournament has been the only cricket they could be a part of. Despite this, the team were very resilient and were again extremely encouraging to each other and seemed to really enjoy playing. Hampton and Solihull won by 50 runs despite a high scoring final few overs where Zainab from Moseley Ashfield hit consecutive sixes.
One of Hampton and Solihull’s players, Shara Roy only started playing cricket in September but played like such an experienced player and was a key contributor. She told me about her experience of the tournament saying, “it has been really fun, it’s been a great way to make friends and I am really excited for playing in the summer”. She also explained that “it was quite nerve wracking in the first few games because I hadn’t played before, but I really enjoy it now”.
Another player from the winning side was Beth Lucas. At the end, she explained that “I played cricket as a teenager but then stepped away from the game for about 10 years. I moved to Solihull and looked for sport clubs as a way to get to know people in the area. I came across a flyer for Hampton and Solihull CC’s women’s team and thought I would get back into it”. Beth also told me how valuable the tournament had been for the team and the improvement in the team across the last few months. She also said “it was great to make new connections with teams we haven’t played against before. We have now arranged some friendlies with teams from this league for the summer which would not have happened without this indoor league”.
Warwickshire Community Coach, Ria Gill, who umpired for the day spoke to me at the end of the competition. She said “it was so enjoyable, there was great technique on display and the vibe was so positive. Everyone got stuck in and were encouraging each other, an all-round positive environment.” Ria also mentioned, “I love umpiring so I was glad to have the opportunity to do so, it just shows these young girls what you can do in the game and the opportunities available for girls in cricket”.
I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day watching the games and getting to know some of the players. There was lots of talent on display, and it was great to see such a variety of ages and ability. Hopefully, this league can continue next year as it is clear to see the impact it has had and the opportunity it has given clubs across Warwickshire.