Girls’ Cricket Opportunities At Christ College

THE LAUNCH OF GIRLS’ CRICKET HAS CERTAINLY BEEN ONE OF THE SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LENT TERM AT CHRIST COLLEGE.

Cricket is a long established sport for the boys and is supported by Darren Thomas (former England and Glamorgan player). Girls who already play to a suitable level have been able to play with the boys. Now however, the girls will develop and play fixtures in their own right and share in the delight of this very exciting sport.

Already the sport has proved popular with many Christ College girls, as they play in local clubs and a few have gained recognition at representative level. The planning of fixtures and development festivals are now well under way for the summer term and girls in year 9 and below will be very much part of the Christ College Cricket Programme.

Terry Dickson, the ‘Cricket Wales Community Coach for Mid Wales’, visited the college in March and worked with years 7 and 8 to officially launch the sport. Girls were able to experience batting, bowling and fielding within fun games. Christ College are pleased to be working closely with ‘Cricket Wales’ and ‘Chance to Shine’ to encourage girls but also the boys to play and develop a lifelong interest for the sport of cricket.

‘Chance to Shine’ is a national charity on a mission to spread the power of cricket throughout schools and communities. ‘Chance to Shine’ and ‘Sport Wales’ invest in ‘Cricket Wales’ to take cricket to new places and use it to ignite new passions, teach vital skills, unite diverse groups, educate young people and develop the skills, passion and confidence for a life in cricket.

Terry will visit the college regularly in the summer term to run fun packed cricket sessions for both the girls and the boys.

These sessions will be highlighting how much fun there is to have playing cricket whilst developing strong core skills.

Women’s cricket is one of the fastest growing sports in Great Britain and many of the local schools as well as in the independent sector are moving towards girls’ cricket. Girls’ or women’s cricket is by no means a new concept as the first recorded match was in 1745. The first women’s cricket club was founded in 1887, and the Women’s Cricket Association (WCA) was responsible for the running of English and Welsh women’s cricket from 1926. The WCA handed over the running of women’s cricket to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 1998.

It is an amazing prospect to introduce Christ College girls to cricket, starting with the younger ages to include years 7, 8 and 9 as well as in the junior section, St Nicholas House. This internationally popular sport will be an excellent addition to the already broad and successful sports and extra-curricular programme at Christ College.