Female cricketers now have their chance at the crease at De Montfort University (DMU), following the formation of the university's first ever women’s team.
The establishment of the DMU Cricket women's side comes off the back of strong developments for the men’s set up, which has seen a sporting partnership with Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC) grow in the last few years in addition to extra university funding.
The club successfully secured 60 names for the women’s team at the recent Activities Fair organised by De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU), part of the #FreshFest16 annual Freshers’ festival.
Club President, James Fitzgerald, who with his committee has figure-headed the formation of the women’s team, said: “This is our main priority as a committee this year.
“When we came back to university after the summer, it became pretty apparent to us that we need to try and push a women’s team.
“In the past we’ve not necessarily had the money or backing from the university or LCCC, but we now have that and the interest shown is far beyond our expectations.”
In partnership with LCCC and dedicated coach Dips Patel, the club hope to get the women’s team to a level where they can be entered into the British University and College Sports (BUCS) outdoor cricket league.
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James said: “Dips our coach is going to be training with the women’s team twice a week at Grace Road which is a fantastic asset we have for the men’s side too.
“The overall long term objective is to get them competing alongside us at outdoor varsity against the University of Leicester who have had a team for a few years.
“We’d also like to add two or three players to the committee to contribute to the decision making processes we have in place and guide the club forward.”
Women’s cricket has been on the rise in the past few years and next summer Leicester will play host to fixtures for the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.
James said: “The World Cup will bring some of the biggest names from women’s cricket to the city.
“Ten years ago women’s cricket wasn’t really in the spotlight, whereas you look at it now and it’s one of the strongest women’s sports in the country.
“England are at the forefront of women’s cricket and to have a team form for the first time here at DMU is just fantastic.”
Coaching for the women’s team will run every Wednesday afternoon from 3pm to 4.30pm at the home of LCCC, Grace Road.
Joining the team will also bring the added benefits of a complimentary season ticket to LCCC home fixtures, hospitality an ICC Women’s World Cup fixture, complimentary ticket to the DMU v University of Leicester varsity match plus exclusive coaching sessions from LCCC players.
For more information and to register you interest contact: elainepickering@leicestershireccc.co.uk
Posted on Tuesday 11 October 2016