Photo Credit: Cricket Australia
As the Australian Women’s Team prepares for its T20 World Cup semi-final against India in South Africa, participation among girls has hit a significant milestone with more than 20,000 girls aged 12-and-under registered to play in cricket competitions and programs.
This figure represents a 33% increase on last season’s total, a 64% increase in Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations in this age group and is double the number of girls 12-and-under who registered to play cricket in 2016/17 (10,152).
The sustained growth in girls’ participation comes after Australian Cricket’s significant investment in grassroots programs including the Growing Cricket for Girls Fund supported by CommBank.
Further long-term investment in women’s and girls’ cricket has included growing elite competitions such as the Weber WBBL and WNCL, development of junior girls’ pathways and increased wages for elite players, while the stellar achievements of the world champion Australian Women’s Team has created inspirational role models.
With the recent advent of the Women’s Premier League, cricket now offers the most lucrative opportunity of any team sport in Australia for female professional athletes.
James Allsopp, Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager of Community Cricket and Capability said:
“Increasing opportunities for girls to play has been a key priority for Australian Cricket.
“We are extremely proud that so many young girls are now playing cricket and grateful to the clubs and volunteers who are driving this growth.
“The fact that one in four Woolworths Cricket Blast participants are girls is testament to our club’s commitment to be a sport for all.
“We have set the ambitious goal of doubling the number of kids aged between 5 and 12 playing cricket in the next five years and we are working hard to ensure our clubs and entry-level programs meet the needs of young girls and their families.
“While we are proud of breaking the 20,000 barrier we have a long way to go and are focused on further accelerating participation for girls.
“The season is still underway and I’m sure the feats of Meg Lanning and her team in South Africa will inspire even more girls to sign up for cricket this summer.”
