By Russell Bennett
Girls’ cricket took pride of place in the West Gippsland Cricket Association on Sunday at Officer, with four local clubs blazing the trail for other girls’ sides to follow.
Teams from Kooweerup, Officer and Upper Beaconsfield were joined by an outfit from Beaconsfield on Sunday for the opening day of the inaugural girls’ competition.
Moving forward, these four teams will play in a competition on Monday nights using the Cricket Victoria Level 1 format with each participant getting a bat and a bowl.
On Sunday at Starling Road in Officer, the girls were put through their paces in a range of training drills by the likes of Pakenham champion Rob Elston before they took to the field to compete.
The popularity of the women’s and girls’ game has skyrocketed in recent times in the wake of the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) and the performance of the Australian national team, featuring the likes of Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, and Alex Blackwell.
On Sunday, Officer overcame a young, spirited Kooweerup while the Maroons defeated their local rivals despite Beaconsfield achieving a team hat-trick.
The WGCA is still calling on expressions of interest for other clubs to field sides in the competition, with school sides also welcome to participate.
The dates for the rest of the season include (all Mondays): 27 November, 4 and 11 December, 29 January, and 5 and 12 February.
