Photo Credit: USA Cricket
- Players and coaches across country praise new USA domestic structure
- Coordinators, team contacts, coaches, officials among volunteers applauded by USA Cricket for their outstanding contributions to make tournament happen
- Teams for next round of Regional Matches to be announced shortly
Women’s cricket was celebrated from coast to coast this weekend, as the first phase of the new USA Cricket Pathway for Women and Girls, the Intra-Regionals, came to a close after 23 matches were played over the two weeks of the competition.
12 teams from across the country competed with women and girls coming together to share their excitement for the historic event. Over the course of the second weekend, there were wins for the Bay Area, Chapel Hill, Dallas and Southern California, with more fine individual and team performances. There were also three wins for New York over Boston, as both teams made their entry into the tournament, with all three games going right down to the wire. To review the match scorecards in full, please click here.
Member of the USA Women’s National Training Group, and Captain of the Boston team, Candacy Atkins Martin shared her excitement, said, “This event was groundbreaking and it was good to see so many women and girls playing cricket. To be able to put together 12 competitive teams across the country is amazing and this is clearly the right direction for the women’s game to be moving in!”
The DC Coach, Chita Nalik explained the enthusiasm and success of the tournament in just a short period is already driving an increased demand for more cricket opportunities for female cricketers, “Our DC Team Contact, Roy Fernando is already talking with the North Carolina teams to plan additional matches and I’m sure the same is happening with many of the other teams. The further exposure through this tournament for our female cricketers will not only improve the standard of cricket they are playing, but also encourage more women and girls to get involved in cricket within a new pathway that is already bearing fruit.”
This was a sentiment shared throughout the country by many and Houston-based Volunteer Coordinator, Mithali Das, also reported that the teams assembled in Dallas and Houston plan to be playing against one another on a regular basis.
Fourteen of the best players from DC, Philadelphia, New York and Boston will now be identified to compete in the Eastern Regionals, playing against a team of players from North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, on July 2-5, at the Church Street Cricket Ground in Morrisville, NC. The Western Regionals will follow on July 15-18 in Prairie View, TX when a team from the West representing California and Washington, will take on the Southwest, involving players selected from Dallas and Houston. Both weekends will feature T20 and 50 Over games and, at the conclusion of the Regionals, a squad of fourteen players from the Eastern part of the country will be selected to take on a team from the Western half to play in the USA Cricket Women’s Senior National Competition in early August. For the first time ever, a Women’s U19 National competition will also be held, with all U19 players who have participated in the Intra-Regional Competition being considered for selection irrespective of whether they have been selected to play in the combined Regionals competition.
USA Women’s Head Coach, Julia Price commented, “I have been pleased with the quality of cricket on display with some really impressive performances from many of those already in our Training Group, and plenty of new, young talent on show too. Not only was this competition a quality localized initial step in the pathway for broader selection, it has proved to be hugely inspiring in helping to promote cricket for women and girls at club level. As the tournament increases in popularity and becomes a permanent part of the domestic landscape, we also hope that it will encourage more leagues across the country to engage better and more frequently with their female players and give them more regular cricketing opportunities.”
Photo Credit: LinkedIn profile photo of Julia Price
The final match of this round of the competition at Pleasanton in California saw the public unveiling of a new turf facility, one of four in the Tri-Valley, with the local Mayor, City Council Members and School District Members all in attendance, underlining the strength and influence of the local cricketing community and the support that local officials continue to offer the sport.
USA Cricket CEO, Iain Higgins, said, “I was thrilled to see the progress that continues to be made in the Tri-Valley area, and it was fantastic that this match was able to help showcase the support for the growth of cricket in this area. More broadly, USA Cricket would like to pay a special thanks to the entire group of people who came together to make the Intra-Regionals such a success right across the country. In particular, the recently appointed volunteer coordinators, local team contacts and coaches, as well as the groundspersons, officials and other organizers at all of the venues that played host, were all absolutely integral to the success of the event and we are very grateful for your support. We look forward to building on this success.”
To see photos from a selection of matches at the tournament please click here.
Name of Author: USA Cricket
USA Cricket (USAC) is the governing body for cricket in the United States, overseeing the national men’s, women’s, and youth teams. It also manages Major League Cricket, the premier domestic Twenty20 competition in the U.S.
