Over £3,000 raised to support Women’s & Girls’ Cricket in Kent

Ahead of International Women’s Day, Kent Cricket hosted a President’s Handover Lunch, presided over by outgoing 2022 President Yvonne Neame & the Club’s President for 2023, Chris Cowdrey, at the Shepherd Neame Brewery in Faversham on Tuesday 7 March. The event was attended by almost 50 Kent Cricket partners, Century Club members & Past Presidents and showcased the best of the Club’s female talent pathway & the Club’s ongoing commitment to growing the women’s game.

Kent Cricket’s Women’s & Girls’ Pathway Manager, Dave Smith, provided an update on the Club’s Female Talent Pathway which aims to develop a continuous pipeline of players for South East Stars and England over the coming years. Kent Cricket already provide 8 players to the South East Stars Regional squad, 4 players in the South East Stars Academy and a further 9 players in the South East Stars EPP (Emerging Player Programme).

The Club’s Women’s & Girls’ Community Cricket Manager, Helen Fagg, explained how community cricket clubs were growing the Women’s and Girls’ game with over 28 community clubs across the County now offering specific Women and Girl’s cricket programmes.

During the lunch there was an auction to raise funds to support the growth and development of the women’s and girls’ game in Kent. The auction raised over £3,000 which will be split across two key programmes – covering the cost of new hardball kitbags for developing women’s and girls’ cricket clubs and as performance bursaries for girls’ in our county age group pathway (https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/performance-bursaries-now-available-for-2023-24-season/).

Sarah Osborn, Manager of the Kent Cricket Community Trust, shared how the Trust was using the power of cricket to empower Women and Girls’ in the community and reduce violence against Women and Girls.

Kent Cricket’s Event Operations Manager, Tanya Nicholls, said: “It was fantastic for us to celebrate the success, and to look ahead to the future of women’s cricket in Kent alongside both Yvonne and Chris. We are very grateful to Shepherd Neame and their team for hosting the event in such a fantastic setting. The insights that Dave, Helen and Sarah gave us meant that our partners and stakeholders left the event with a great understanding of the work that goes on to increase the opportunities Women and Girls across Kent have to play the game and make the most of their abilities.”

Yvonne Neame, Kent President for 2022 said, “It has been a privilege to serve as President over the past twelve months, particularly to see the continuation of the rise of women’s cricket. I’m sure 2023 will see continued growth in the women’s game and that is something I’m sure we will all enjoy seeing together this coming year. I am particularly looking forward to the first ever double header of its kind to take place at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on 7th June when South East Stars will play Central Sparks in a T20 match before Kent take on Essex in the Vitality Blast. I would encourage everyone to come down and witness for themselves the terrific cricket that South East Stars are playing.”

To donate to KCCT via the Charities Aid Foundation click here.