Young women in Goulburn were recently afforded the chance to develop their cricket skills as part of the four-week Girls Only Cricket Pop Up Blast held in Goulburn.
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The program, which was run by local coach Garry Mortimer, spanned four weeks, ended last week and a total of 15 girls took part.
Mortimer was extremely pleased with the turnout, and said he did not know what to expect ahead of a cricket program which began towards the end of the season.
"To be honest, we had no idea what to expect, but we would have run it for one," he said.
"It was going to happen as long as we had at least one turn up. We're pretty happy with what we got, and there were some girls there who showed some talent."
The program was designed to introduce young women to the game of cricket in a fun and supportive environment. It featured girls between the ages of five and 12, and was organised at short notice by Cricket NSW.
Over the four weeks, Mortimer took the participants through a range of the basic skills required for cricket.
"It was based around activities which cover all the cricket skills, so basically fielding, batting, and bowling," Mortimer said.
"We finished up with a modified game, and from where we started to where we finished, everyone showed improvement."
One of the most satisfying aspects of the program for Mortimer was seeing a passion for the sport sparked within the girls.
Of the 15 participants, three have expressed interest in playing in the Stage One competition in 2021/22, while many of the others expressed interest in next season's Junior Cricket Blast program.
The program was supported by the Goulburn District Junior Cricket Association, and funded by Cricket NSW via 'The Next Innings' grant scheme.
'The Next Innings' is a female participation strategy launched by Cricket Australia in September 2020. According to statistics quoted by CA, "registered participation among women and girls has grown 61% in four years from 47,831 to 76,413 Australia-wide".
The new strategy is designed to continue the momentum of women's cricket developed in recent years, and will use such methods as the Girls Only Pop Up Blast programs to introduce new players to the game.
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