January 5 was a significant day for female cricket on the Central Coast with three local juniors taking the field in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) – the pinnacle of domestic women’s cricket in Australia.
Lauren Smith (Southern Spirit) has been the pioneer of women’s cricket on the Central Coast and has been plying her trade at the elite level for many years now, firstly with NSW (WNCL) and Sydney Sixers (WBBL) and more recently with Tasmania and the Sydney Thunder.
She has also played in a number of professional leagues overseas.
Smith is regarded as one of the most reliable cricketers with her off spin, lower order batting and brilliant fielding making her the complete cricketer.
Last year, Alisha Bates (Lisarow Ourimbah) received a contract to play for the ACT Meteors and after making her debut late last season she has been a regular fixture for the Meteors this year, impressing with her left arm spin and solid middle order batting.
Bates still plays cricket on the Central Coast when her ACT commitments allow and last week she played in the Women’s 1st Grade competition which was a thrill for those who played with and against her.
Making up the trio is Terrigal Matcham’s Grace Dignam, who earned a contract with ACT after a dominant season last year for both Northern Districts and Terrigal Matcham.
After having to overcome a severe hamstring injury early in the season, Friday saw her debut for the Meteors.
While these three have reached the pinnacle of domestic cricket in this country, there are many other girls who over the past month have also reached significant levels.
These include Rochelle Davis (Wyong), who played for NSW Country in the Australian Country Championships in Newcastle and Emily Humphreys and Tara French (both Terrigal Matcham), who performed well for NSW Country and the National U19 Female Championships which included Humphreys taking the amazing figures of 6/2 in one match.
To round things off, Terrigal Matcham’s Ava Drury is off to Hobart this week to play in the National U16 Female Championships for NSW Country.
The Central Coast also had a dozen players represent NSW in the Women’s National Veterans Championships in November.
The local female competitions also continue to expand with the number of players taking to the field this year, including both seniors and juniors, growing by 14 per cent, while the Central Coast enjoyed success in both the Country Cricket NSW U19s and U16s Championships for the first time this season.