This season, Cricket NSW will be piloting and developing a new program for girls to play. Social Girls Cricket is a short, lite format that is aimed at being a social activity with emphasis on cricket being fun.
Working in partnership with Cricket Australia, the new social format is aimed at girls aged 8-14 who are either new to cricket or transitioning from Cricket’s entry-level program, Woolworths Cricket Blast, but offers enough flexibility for programs to have older players and even mums play alongside their daughters.
Getting more girls to pick up a bat and ball has been one of Cricket NSW’s biggest strategic priorities over the past few years, and CNSW currently offers a host of girls-only programs at various levels of the game, starting from Cricket Blast, aimed at 5–10-year-olds, right through to senior women’s cricket.
The state’s junior cricket female participation numbers, where girls play traditional cricket with helmets and pads, have also grown healthily year on year.
However, an extensive research project conducted by Kinlab in 2024, concluded that that there were a significant number of girls who have tried cricket at school but don’t necessarily want to play with helmet and pads and a hard ball.
In contrast, there are also girls who said they would like to play more cricket in a social setting with their friends and that they would welcome a more relaxed, alternative form of cricket.
Keeping in mind that there were time constraints for busy parents and a multitude of other sports offerings, CNSW set out to create a product to match those needs. The new Social Girls Programs include:
- Six-a-side games – where you play with friends from school, or for those play at a club already. Lots of action and activity for everyone.
- No helmet, pads or hard ball. A snazzy new carbon fibre bat and taped or soft ball to hit the ball further.
- Tons of opportunities to bat and ball for everyone each week.
- Only an hour of play.
- One central location each week – no home and way travel.
CNSW has piloted six locations across NSW to get the program going and plans to have more locations across the state in 2025. A few come-and-try days are also going to be organised later this year for women and girls to come and have a hit and see if Social Girls Cricket is something they’d like to keep playing.
Julie Stafford, Female Engagement and Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Cricket NSW, said:
“We want more girls to play and love cricket and we’re certain this new program will do just that. It’s a great way to play, whether you play now in traditional cricket or if you want to just try playing the game for six weeks in the summer. Come and give it a go!”
Have a watch of our video to see what the game is about and keep your eye out for locations near you: https://www.cricketnsw.com.au/women-and-girls/social-cricket