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Cricket Tasmania yesterday held its inaugural Women’s Premier League Come and Try Day at the Tasmanian Hockey Centre, giving females a chance to give cricket a go.
The gala day, aimed at introducing new players to the game, proved a good opportunity for clubs to recruit some new players as well as participate in a series of intra-club matches to get their teams together before the start of the season.
Cricket Tasmania Female Cricket Officer and Cripps Tasmanian Roar Vice Captain Linsey Da Costa said that in recent years there had been an encouraging increase in the number of females playing the game in the state but that there is always room to encourage more girls to play.
“With the Cripps Tasmanian Roars' entry into the WNCL (Women’s National Cricket League) three years ago we have seen a great improvement in the number of female participants and we hope to see more girls getting into the game over the summer,” Da Costa said.
“It was great to see some new faces today and hopefully before the season starts current Premier League players can encourage their friends to join in this season too.”
The gala day concluded with the Cripps Tasmanian Roar girls taking on some local Hobart personalities, including Hobart Charger Mark Nash, in a light hearted hit out.
The match gave locals a chance to catch a glimpse of the Roar girls before they headed to Sydney for a pre-season tour this morning, where they will take on the powerhouse of the WNCL, the NSW Breakers, in a series of matches this week.
“It will be a good opportunity and challenge to play against some quality opposition in the Breakers who have won the last five national league titles,” Da Costa said.
The following players were selected for the pre-season tour in Sydney:
CRIPPS TASMANIAN ROAR
Veronica Pyke (c )
Linsey Da Costa (vc)
Erin Burns
Katelyn Fryett
Corinne Hall
Katie Hartshorn
Brooke Hepburn
Lauren Hepburn
Kylie Jones
Belinda Page
Meg Phillips
Carly Ryan
Emma Thompson
Coach: Jade Selby
Assistant Coach / Strength and Conditioning Co-ordinator: Darren McNees