Cricket showcase in Wimborne celebrates women in sport

By Jecs Davies

After a historic victory for the Lionesses in the UEFA Women’s Euros, there is a new wave of excitement around women and girls in sport all over the country, and Dorset is no exception.

Dorset Cricket hosted a showcase event on Thursday 31 July to celebrate the power, pride, and progress in women’s sport and inspire young girls to get involved.

Throughout the day, there were cricket skills zones and challenges for young people to take part in, elite coaching workshops with Southern Brave players, panel talks and a marquee networking lunch.

Unfortunately, the scheduled T20 match between Hampshire and Dorset Women’s teams was interrupted by spells of wet weather, however this did not dampen the overall buzz of the day.

Former professional cricketer and current Head of Talent Pathways for Dorset Cricket, Garthe Berg, said: “It’s fantastic to see cricket not just being a men’s sport or a boys’ sport and seeing the young girls out there exploring and enjoying it, and possibly at some point become professionals themselves.”

“We’ve got a few pros that are in and around today, which is great, and they’ve been mingling with the showcase players and young kids in the skills zones, so hopefully they’re beacons of light for the young generation.”

One of the guest speakers was captain of Hampshire Women’s Cricket team, Georgia Adams. She talked about being part of the first group of women in England to sign a professional cricket contract and how much the game has developed for young girls following in her footsteps.

Adams said: “I certainly lacked female role models growing up and couldn’t access the game like you can now.

“It’s really lovely to sit here today and see what’s going on and the access that young girls have now to high-quality coaching, brilliant clubs like this who really support them on their journeys, and also exciting career pathways in place for them to go and do it as a job.”