Success for Berkhamsted on first ever Girls Cricket tour

Over the Easter holidays, our Girls Cricket team travelled to Spain to compete in the La Manga T20 Tournament for the first time. The tournament hosts a wide range of international teams and club teams from back in the UK, so the girls had to bring their A game!

The team started strong with an opening match against Streatham & Marlborough CC, demonstrating confident batting and an excellent fielding performance. However, heavy rain on day two led to all games being cancelled for the day. The team didn’t let this deter them though – a game of mini golf turned out to be the perfect team bonding activity and a chance for some friendly competition.

As a result of the weather conditions, the last playing day was reshaped into a fast-paced T10 format, with three group games and the potential for a final later in the day. A solid win against Cricket Switzerland was followed by a narrow loss against Hursley Park in the last few balls, meaning everything rested on the last match.

The final group game was against the Spanish National Team. Berkhamsted gave a strong performance with both the bat and the ball to come away with a memorable victory – an incredible achievement for the girls as the Spanish National Team is ICC recognised. The hard work they had put in over the winter certainly paid off.

As a result of this victory, Berkhamsted made it through to the final against Hursley Park. Unfortunately, weather conditions led to the game being called off halfway through the first innings. As a result, the victory was shared and the Hursley Park team generously offered the winner’s trophy for our team to keep.

“Overall, this was the perfect way to kick off our season, gaining invaluable experience playing against high level teams and coming together as a squad,” said Amelia D, Girls Cricket Captain. “The tour has set us up brilliantly for what we hope will be a competitive and exciting season ahead.”

Berkhamsted Girls has a rich cricket history, with the first team formed in 1898. Back then, the School was known as Berkhamsted Girls Grammar School, and the girls played on the field that they rented for their hockey match as the original school garden was too small! This is remarkably different to the pitches of today – our facilities now include 12 official cricket squares, undersoil drainage, laser levelled outfields and balcony views of the game. Not to mention the indoor nets at the Knox-Johnston Sports Centre which enable pupils to train over the vital winter period.

Girls’ cricket has come so far since the first team was formed. With the success of this first tour, the sport is only going to continue to grow.