With football finished, the cricket season is now almost upon us and local clubs are looking for new players to fill out their teams.
In the case of the Footscray Angliss Cricket Club, they’re on the lookout for female cricketers as they get set to launch their first ever all girls team.
Footscray Angliss president Michael Cox said the under 13 junior girls side that will compete in the Western Region Junior Cricket Association (WRJCA) would hopefully be the first of many female teams at the club.
“We want to be an all inclusive club. We wanna provide opportunities for cricketers of all abilities and ages and obviously women fit into that,” said Cox of the reasoning behind the new team.
He said while the club had long had female players in mixed teams, their lack of a dedicated female program meant they were often lost to other clubs as they got older.
But it was a group of young girls at club who wanted to remain friends while they went to different high schools, that ultimately brought about change.
“Basically the girls came to me with the idea (of starting a junior girls team) and we thought it was fantastic and that we could provide them with the opportunity.”
While the club is looking for girls who will qualify for their under 13 team, Cox said women of all ages and abilities were encouraged to join, with mixed cricket suiting some female players.
‘The girls actually want the opportunity to play against the boys as well, they want to play in the mixed teams,” he said.
Footscray Angliss train on Wednesday evenings from 4pm at Angliss Reserve in Yarraville.
The WRJCA season begins in mid-October.
Cade Lucas.
