Last weekend saw the introduction of the new SK Mortgages Women’s Championship grade in what is a big milestone in the pathway of Women’s and Girl’s club cricket in Christchurch.
If you have been following the growth of female cricket in the region it will have been apparent that player numbers have been precarious and while there is a lot of growth with more players coming through there had to be enough Div1 grade teams and players to break in two sections with the next step being the creation of a Championship Grade.
The grade was only finalised in September once CMCA had received club team entries and the rule set was discussed and finalised following the September CMCA WAG meeting (Women’s Advisory Group) meeting. The rules are to provide more like Premier Grade playing conditions like playing on Grass wickets, 11 players, a 4 piece ball and longer 40 over innings than Div 1.
Our Championship side faced Lancaster Park at Woolston Park 1 with LPCC winning the toss and inviting NWWC to bat first.
NWWC Champs 139/9 from 40 overs Divija Gopalakrishnan 24*, Zoe Pullar 2/10 beat Lancaster Park 125/9 by 14 runs Tessa Hickson 34, Pippa Bocock 21, Lee-ann Martin 4/14, Michaela Yoon 3/25.
After the game the teams came together, Zoe Pullar acknowledged the significance of the creation of the new grade, and the team captains awarded POD for opposition Lancaster Park: Pippa Bocock, NWWC: Lee-ann Martin (pictured above)
Scorecard:
You must be logged in to post a comment.