The SE Female Open Age Cricket League may have wrapped up more than a month ago, but women’s cricket returns to centre stage this weekend.
There is plenty of action going on, but this Sunday will be a special occasion for the sport when the first ever South East representative Senior women’s team takes to the field.
A 12-player squad has been named to take on Hamilton in two T20 games at Frew Park on Sunday which will be a treat for cricket fans.
The South East Women’s Cricket Association team is led by the inspirational Fiona Young, who dominated for North Sportsman’s earlier this summer.
Young fronts the heavy Tigers’ presence in the squad with teammates Chelsea Gabriel, Liz Plew and Emma Braun also expected to play key roles.
As expected the winners of the second edition of the South East Women’s League, Naracoorte enjoys strong representation.
The lady who recorded the top bowling aggregate of the summer Anna McGregor, will spearhead the attack.
McGregor had an incredible season taking 11 wickets at an average of 7.64 with best figures of 5/12.
She is known for her precision attacking off stump and the ability to swing the ball both ways.
Fellow Naracoorte bowler Sharnna Devereux also played a key role in the success with the Kookaburra in her hand and will be looking forward to resuming her bowling partnership with McGregor.
Sile Legoe and reserve Ange Donelly are the other Naracoorte representatives.
South Gambier star Laura Chester can add a touch of flare with her stroke play on the leg side
Bordertown duo Sarah Robertson and Linda Schneider will be keen to get back on the field, while Mil Lil’s Jen Peterson and Melanie Batemen get the opportunity to represent their region on home turf.
South East takes on a representative team from the Hamilton and District Women’s Cricket Association.
The Victorian association is made up of 12 teams and has recently played a representative game against Warrnambool and will be keen to take the bragging rights home back over the border.
It all shapes up to be an entertaining day of T20 action and South East captain Young cannot wait to lead her troops into battle.
“It is very exciting,” she said.
“We have had a great season collectively as a league and we have girls from many clubs, so it will be cool to play together.
“We have had good battles as opponents so I am excited to be play together in such a good team and hopefully we have some great games.”
Young said her team will not be afraid to take the game on with skillful individuals across all disciplines.
“The squad is looking really promising and we have some great batting depth in particular,” she said.
“If you look at the stats all the girls have had great years and carry plenty of potential.
“Our bowling line up and fielding skills are also fantastic, so I am just hopeful we have a great group of girls with a positive attitude.
“We will aim to be competitive from the outset and put the foot down to see what we can do.”
Although the South East Senior women’s team is yet to pick up a bat or ball in anger, Young confirmed the side has been preparing for the T20 fixtures since the squad was announced last month and said there is a great vibe around the group.
“We have done a couple of training sessions, so it has been great getting to know each other not as opponents,” she said.
“It has been excellent because there is a lot of talent so it has been nice to see how other teams go about it.
“We have had Charlie (Legoe) from Naracoorte doing the coaching which has been great getting the insights.
“I think the girls are just keen to continue playing cricket.”
With the Hamilton league enjoying the luxury of having more than double the amount of clubs than the South East, Young is looking forward to the challenge of playing the Victorians.
“We are keen to see what Hamilton has done because they have had a successful league for quite a long time,” she said.
“It should be an exciting match up just to gain a perspective on how they play.
“Its only the second year we have had the league and the first time we have played as a senior South East side so hopefully we put in a strong performance.”
It has already been a huge summer for Young and the captaincy appointment is the cherry on top.
Young was in a league of her own during the women’s season with her incredible individual efforts helping the Tigers race into the Grand Final undefeated.
After scoring 218 runs at a crazy average of 72.67, plus picking up seven wickets at 10.57 and taking two catches, it was no surprise to see Young named player of the season.
The allrounder admitted she was stunned by what she was able to produce on the field earlier this summer.
“I was not expecting to have the season that I did,” Young said.
“I knew (North) as a team would be pretty competitive with a great group of girls being keen to train.
“We also had some great coaches who kept pushing and developing us so having such a great team around me freed me up as a captain to focus on my own game.
“A lot of time the openers dealt with the tough openers to allow me to get out there, so it was definitely because of my team I was able to have the year that I did.
“But I would have loved to cap it off with a premiership, but Naracoorte played well and it will fuel us for next year.”
With sunshine forecast on Sunday it should be a lovely time to sit on the banks of Frew Park and enjoy some quality women’s cricket with the first game starting at 10.30am before the second contest starts four hours later.
