Australian women’s cricket enjoys clear dominance in the world of women’s cricket across all formats, namely, Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. Australian women’s cricket team have done exceedingly well at the ICC events.
Out of the seven ICC World T20 competitions, Australia have won five of them and ended as runner-up in one. In the 50-over World Cups, Australia has featured in 11 (all) tournaments, winning the coveted championship on six occasions and securing the runner-up position in two instances.
So how does Australia get such fine women cricketers? How can the Australian girls make it to their national side? In this article, the pathway to reach the Australian women’s cricket team is discussed.
Woolworths Cricket Blast:
It starts with Woolworths Cricket Blast. It is a fun and active program for girls of all abilities. Girls in the age group of 5-7 will start in Junior Blasters, before moving on to Master Blasters (age 7-10).
Interested? Click here to register.
Junior Cricket:
After Woolworths Cricket Blast, girls aged 9-18 progress to Junior Cricket, during which they play games of organized cricket at their local club or indoor centre. There are over 1200 girls in this age group, who get multiple playing opportunities representing their junior teams across Australia.
Click here to register.
Senior Cricket:
Once a girl completes 18 years of age, she is eligible to play Senior Cricket. There are girls, who play Senior Cricket, before turning 18, based on their skill set required to match the level. At this level, there is a wide range of opportunities for female cricketers including social and community options, indoor cricket, and premier cricket.
Click here to register.
Pathways Cricket:
In this stage, there are opportunities presented to girls to represent their respective states or territory at an underage level. The girls who perform well for their state have a high chance of making it to the national side.
WBBL and WNCL:
The leading domestic T20 and 50-over competitions for women cricketers in Australia are the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) and WNCL (Women’s National Cricket League) respectively. There are eight teams, namely, Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, and Sydney Thunder that play the WBBL and there are seven states/territory, namely, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia that play the WNCL.
Australia National Cricket Team:
This is the ultimate stage. Once a player goes past the aforementioned stages and has prolific performances at the domestic level, she has a strong chance of representing Australia across all three formats, including Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.