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2013 proved to be a very successful year for Girls’ and Women’s Cricket here in the Northern Cricket Union (NCU) with a number of new and exciting initiatives and competitions throughout the year coming to life.
Nigel Jones, Cricket Ireland’s Regional Development Officer in the NCU, was instrumental in driving forward the Girls’ and Women’s game in 2013. As a result, a number of key developments were made possible. These include the establishment of a structured NCU T20 Women’s League, an NCU U17’s Girls’ squad programme, an Ulster Schools’ (Cricket Ireland) U13 Girls Super 8’s competition and the further development and continuation of the highly successful Northern Ireland Girls’ Kwik Cricket Competition. Nigel’s passion and determination to bring Cricket Ireland’s Strategic Plan to life for the Girls’ and Women’s game has to be admired particularly when you consider the limited resource and engagement that currently exists within the female game in the NCU. Moving forward, his biggest challenge will undoubtedly be to ensure further activation and sustainability of such competitions so that they can continue to grow. Schools’ and Clubs’ engagement in this is crucial.

NCU T20 Women’s League

For the first time in recent history a formalised and structured T20 Women’s Cricket League competition took place in the Northern Cricket Union (NCU). The introduction of the competition is a direct result of the development programme work undertaken by Nigel Jones. Nigel was instrumental in persuading clubs within the NCU to take part in the competition by designing it in such a way that, in the first year of the competition, it both encouraged participation and also ensured that players were not overwhelmed by the time commitment required. The intention is to grow the format in 2014, not only in terms of the number of teams involved but also the number of matches and days played. This year’s Finals day was played at Muckamore CC back in August with Lurgan CC beating Civil Service North of Ireland CC in a closely contested final.

Nigel said: “This competition was very much a starting point and I look forward to its development and increased exposure throughout the NCU and Ireland as we look to further develop the women’s game. I’ve been impressed by the skills on display and I look forward to further supporting the activation of increased playing opportunities for girls’ and women’s Cricket here in the North of Ireland.”

The four teams currently involved are Civil Service North of Ireland CC, Lurgan CC, Waringstown CC and North Down CC. Already the early signs for the 2014 season would suggest that a further three clubs from the NCU wish to be involved in the 2014 format.

For any interested clubs who would like to enter a team into the 2014 NCU T20 Women’s League competition, please contact Nigel Jones on: nigel.jones@cricketireland.ie

NCU U17’s Girls Squad Programme

2013 was a year for building pathways and this age group was a major success, not only in terms of exposure for those girls who had the desire to participate but also for those who wanted to push themselves into the ‘shop window’ for possible Ireland U17 selection. As a direct result of this programme, Nigel Pyne, the head coach for Cricket Ireland’s (Women) Emerging Players Programme, Clare Shillington, Ireland Women’s Cricketer of the Year for 2012, and a number of other notable current Ireland female Cricketers were in attendance during the indoor phase of the programme during late March 2013. Following the visit from Nigel Pyne, 12 girls were then invited to the wider Ireland U17 Girls’ Squad Programme in Dublin during the early part of the season. Out of the 12 girls, Hannah Grieve from Lurgan CC was selected for the full Ireland Women’s Training Squad, Naomi Matthews from Donaghcloney CC and Samantha Bann from Lurgan CC were both selected for the Ireland Women’s Emerging Players Squad and Ireland U17 team, and Victoria Lyons from North Down CC and Jessica Wilson from Waringstown CC were both selected for the Ireland U17 squad.

Nigel Jones said: “I’ve been very fortunate to be involved in such a programme and as the Lead Coach of the NCU U17 Girls squad and I’ve been incredibly impressed with the engagement, attitude and skill levels on display. Unfortunately due to early season logistics and weather in 2013 we only managed one match (won by 7 wickets vs NWCU U17 Girls) on top of a number of pre-season training sessions. I hope we are able to get a number of matches arranged and better still played in 2014. Finally I’d like to congratulate all the girls involved throughout the 2013 programme and I look forward to the increased development opportunities that 2014 will undoubtedly bring.”

The 2014 NCU U17 Girls Squad Programme will be starting in late March 2014. For any interested schools/clubs who would like to nominate players, please contact Nigel Jones on: nigel.jones@cricketireland.ie

Ulster Schools’ (Cricket Ireland) U13 Girls Super 8’s Cup

Belfast Royal Academy (BRA) emerged as the Northern Cricket Union champions in the inaugural (in conjunction with Cricket Ireland) Ulster Schools’ U13 Girls Super 8’s Cup competition. Super 8’s Cricket is played by Year 8 and 9 girls (U13) and has been introduced as a development step on the player pathway between Primary School Kwik Cricket and Hard Ball Under 15 Girls Cricket. It is designed to make the game more accessible to girls but yet look and feel like proper Cricket. Six schools competed in this year’s inaugural Super 8’s Cup competition. They were; Bloomfield Collegiate, Belfast Royal Academy (BRA), The Royal School Dungannon, Wallace High School, Friends’ School Lisburn and Banbridge Academy.

Nigel Jones was a key player in the activation and development of Super 8’s Cricket in the NCU region and said: “It is extremely rewarding to see a concept turn into reality, the engagement and commitment throughout the Super 8’s competition has been outstanding and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the schools, teachers and participants involved in the 2013 competition. The challenge we now face is to increase the supporting structure around the competition so future development and sustainability is continually underpinned – I already have a number of schools’ wanting to participate in the 2014 competition so this is vitally important that these challenges are met. It (the Super 8’s format) has already proved to be a big success with schools and I look forward to its activation again in 2014.”,

This Cricket Ireland competition is proudly supported by the Ulster Schools committee and the Northern Cricket Union (NCU).

For any interested schools who would like to enter a team into the 2014 competition or if there are any volunteers/teachers who would like to assist with some of the administration of the competition, please contact Nigel Jones on: nigel.jones@cricketireland.ie

Girls Kwik Cricket Competition

The Northern Ireland Kwik Cricket Finals were held at Stormont in June with Strandtown Primary School winning the Girls competition, beating Donemana Primary School in the Final. The Kwik Cricket Competition is growing steadily each year with six girls’ schools and 15 boys’ schools competing in 2013. Kwik Cricket is viewed as the first step for children to get involved in cricket.

Nigel Jones said: “I was very impressed with the skill levels on display across both the girls’ and boys’ tournaments, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if a future Irish Cricketing star was in attendance. This competition has been growing over a number of years now and it is fantastic to see so many teams taking part.”

With the range of competitions available and the increasing number of participants, thanks to the efforts of Cricket Ireland and Nigel in particular, it clearly demonstrates the increasing demand for Girls’ and Women’s Cricket within the NCU.

For girls, schools or clubs wishing to get involved in girls’ cricket, please contact Nigel Jones by email: nigel.jones@cricketireland.ie or telephone: 075 8540 0121.

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