Sunbury could have it’s first women’s cricket team later this year, with Sunbury Cricket Club looking to form a team.
Looking to further expand the club and make it more inclusive for the local community, the Roar is keen to have a women’s side and open more opportunities.
Roar president Brendan Doyle said they were keen to give local females a place to play.
He said while there was junior girl’s team in the area, he said it looks set to be the first club in Sunbury to have a senior women’s team.
“Last year during one of our games, I was talking to one of the players’ partners and she said that she goes to Gisborne to play cricket,” he said.
“I’ve been involved with Sunbury juniors for a number of years.
“A lot of girls have been coming through the age brackets. They come to under-16s and there’s no real pathway in Sunbury clubs for them to continue to play cricket in the area.
“What we’ve seen is either they completely give up cricket or they go outside the Sunbury area.”
Doyle said they had previously looked at having a junior girls team, but hadn’t been able to get the numbers. He said that was something they were still looking at.
The club has already gained formal approval from the CV Community Cricket Competition to field a team in their north-west one-day competition.
“We’ll play against teams like Gisborne, Tullamarine, Melton Centrals, St Anthonys, Craigieburn and Hoppers Crossing, so it’s a local competition,” Doyle said.
“My belief is the more female sides in the area the better.”
Doyle said they were confident of getting a team up and going for this season, but said if they didn’t succeed they would continue to push the idea in the coming years.
He said there had been interest from both players and possible coaches. He said they were hoping to get a few experienced players in the side.
“There’s no age bracket, we want all women participating,” he said.
“We’re hoping to get some experienced players, who may have stepped down from another level and can help start developing the younger ranks as well.
“If we’re not successful this year, we’ll keep pushing through.”
Doyle said they would look to involve the women’s side in training alongside the men’s and junior sides. “We want to be the club of choice for both male and female cricket.”
Coaching applications or inquiries can be sent to sunburycc.vic@gmail.com or Doyle can be contacted on 0426 244 187.
Tara Murray
