Is too much cricket ever enough? Not according to Janelle Pais who is part winter cricket’s revival
Is too much cricket ever enough? Not according to schoolgirl Janelle Pais who is the face of winter cricket’s revival from the COVID-19 threat. And she is very, very good, having made her Raymont Shield debut earlier in the year aged just 12.
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Is too much cricket ever enough? Not according to schoolgirl Janelle Pais who happily plays the whole year.
The 13-year-old is an example of a growing trend of young cricketers emerging from COVID-19 restrictions to play winter cricket.
“I don’t really play any other sports so pretty much play cricket all year around,’’ said Pais, who aspires to be the youngest female to represent Australia.
Pais, who remarkably made her first grade debut in the Katherine Raymont Shield last season playing for the University of Queensland, plays summer cricket for University and winter cricket for her junior club, Albany Creek Hawks.
And she will also take part in University free girls cricket winter program from July 13 to August 17.
“Janelle did it (Uni’s program) last year and her cricket really took off from there,’’ said Janelle’s father Jose.
Indeed Janelle will be part of a small army of cricket rookies taking to the Warehouse cricket field in near record numbers this winter.
Warehouse cricket development officer Laurence Christie said the competition would see 80 junior teams from under 13s to under 16s competing which “were great numbers’’ for the sport.
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In fact over the last decade junior numbers had grown from 46 teams to 88 sides last season.
Christie said there were several reasons for winter season growth including that cricket was non-contact and the cooler weather.
But he said the big thing, “and this has come through loud and clear’’, was that winter cricket was played across five hours, giving players more time to bat and bowl.
This was different to summer junior cricket which was mainly 25-overs-a-side played in the morning only.
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Christie said in addition to growing junior numbers, there would be a 39 team senior competitions which was more than last season.
Pias will be one of the exciting young guns involved in winter cricket.
She is a leg-spinning all-rounder who, after being tutored by her brother Jeremy, already “has a couple of variations’’ to toss at batter.
“I practice pretty much every day. We have a net in our backyard and I practice with my brother and my dad (Jose),’’ she said.
Basically she is a young women with a love of cricket in her eyes who just adores the sport.
“I really like that everyone is so nice when we play and it is nice out on the field and everyone is having fun,’’ the Genesis Christian College student said.
She loved playing for her junior club Albany Creek Hawks, while she also spoke highly of the culture at the University of Queensland club.
Her comments about Uni’s culture were mirrored across the grades, including from club veteran Scott Walter and University’s rookies on the rise, Jack Clayton and Matt Willans.
Janelle said she recently completed training with the UQ high performance program.
“That helped me a lot not only with my technique, but also with physical training,’’ said Janelle, who said Uni women’s star Laura Harris and Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues were her idols.
Pais was also loving seeing the profile of women’s cricket rise. ““It is good to see girls cricket has come so far now and how it is developing so much these days.’’