Boost for Women’s Cricket

The Hills Barbarians Cricket Club are pitching more resources, including extra coaching classes, into their expanding female teams.

Baa Baas president Steve Wickman, speaking to Hills To Hawkesbury Community News, said they have always encouraged girls teams in their club, with numbers rising in recent years.

Wickman said the club will use the recent $1000 grant from HomeWorld and Sydney Thunder to also purchase new equipment for their female players.

“We have a significant growth in the girls teams at our club,” he said. “We have always had young girls in our teams but now that they have their own teams, we have seen a bigger growth thanks to the great girls we have playing spreading the word. Cricket NSW have been very supportive at every turn to try and help us fill teams helping run come try days.

The grant will be used for extra coaching opportunities and equipment for our female teams to help them keep improving at the rate required to help them keep enjoying the game and staying involved. It would be great one day to have a female player on our committee as an administrator.

We have had some increase in our Junior numbers this season with a small number of senior cricketers dropping away.”

This season, the Baa Baas are fielding three all girls teams in addition to seven senior and 15 junior teams across different age groups. After Christmas, the club will be hosting the junior and Master Blast program with around eight teams.

The club had a successful 2020/21 season, with their A Grade side finishing runners-up in the grand final for the second successive year. The club, however, won the B5 title, while their Under-17 Division I side and B2 team lost their respective finals. Wickman also said bad weather put paid to several of their teams in the semifinals.

The other local clubs competing with the Baa Baas include Baulkham Hills, Winston Hills, Rouse Hill, Kellyville, and Kings Langley.

Kellyville Ridge CC is another local club which received a $1,000 gift as a part of the HomeWorld/ Sydney Thunder Helpers Grant program, which aims to develop the next generation of Sydney Thunder stars. Details: www.hillsbarbarians.org.au