FOR the first time in the South East, an all-girls cricket team will play a Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association competition with a Mil Lel Under 12 side ready for action.
After months of hard work, coach Craig Hicks has assembled 10 girls who can not wait for the season to commence.
Female presence is nothing new in the under-age league, with a couple of girls playing in various teams, but this squad marks the maiden appearance of a large enough group to play together.
It represents a new chapter in the rapid-growth of female participation in a number of sports across the region.
Hicks said when the opportunity presented itself, the girls were more than happy to form a side.
“The girls decided they would like to play in their own team, which is awesome,” he said.
“We had 10 girls and asked them if they would like to play against the boys or whether they wanted to split into two mixed teams.
“My daughter and two of her mates joined for a bit of fitness and the team said lets have a go.”
Plans to create the new team started to take place during Christmas last season and Hicks found strong support from Mil Lel club president Craig Little.
Hicks said the pair only committed to the idea recently and were unsure how successful it would be.
“A few girls have played for Mil Lel, but this year we had six and thought we will try and push to get an extra three or four to make a team,” he said.
“Craig was another big driver of it and we talked about it since roughly last season.
“At the start of footy finals we thought lets just do it, but we had no idea how many girls we were going to have.
“The way they jumped at the chance was excellent.”
With just four of the 10 girls having played the game before, the side will encounter a number of challenges in its maiden campaign.
None more so than inexperience, with the newcomers learning new things at every training session.
Hicks has focused on the fundamentals of batting and bowling techniques, while teaching the simple things such as putting the gear on correctly.
But Hicks said the girls have improved every day since training started two weeks ago.
“We have just focused on basic bowling actions and batting techniques,” he said.
“We have two girls who just get up to bowl and throw it, but everyone does that at the start and now they are all running up and bowling.
“Only one girl has been a wicket-keeper before and at least half of them did not know how to put their own gear on when we began.
“Some would put their gloves on first and realise how do I put my pads on, but they are improving heaps, which is good to see.”
Hicks said he now has a clear idea of how he wants the team to play, but is concerned about how the girls will handle the new environment on the field.
“I want them to block every ball on the stumps, but if its not on the stumps, go your hardest,” he said.
“I want to see the girls belt the ball, but watching it on TV is obviously a lot different to having a hard ball coming towards you.”
With such an inexperienced group, the team will hope to make little steps rather than giant leaps.
Hicks said little things such as batting out an entire innings would be a win.
“If we could not get bowled out a couple of times this year, it would be a win for me and would be party time for the team,” he said.
“Every boundary and wicket will be celebrated and if we can not bowl 100 wides once, that would be good too.”
Hicks has thought of many ways to keep his new group as enthusiastic as possible.
He hopes to raise enough money to take the team to a women’s Big Bash game for inspiration, while he has even thought of showing them a game of softball just to create a competitive spark.
Hicks said the group is excited to start its first season and just wants to have fun, but there are number of difficulties in its way such as lack of gear and sponsors.
“We are hunting for sponsors to donate bats or gear because only three girls have their own,” he said.
“But at the end of the day they are 11 to 12 year old kids who just want to have some fun.”
Looking ahead, Hicks said his dream would be to create an all-girls cricket competition in the South East.
He hopes his team can inspire many more girls to take up the sport.
“There is no reason why girls should not be able to play cricket,” Hicks said.
“If other girls see them we might have two teams next year in the competition.
“In five years time we might have our own league and that would be awesome.”
