Paris Bowdler debuted for Melbourne Renegades in WBBL

Melbourne Renegades’ most recent debutant said she signed up for a reality TV show for ‘a bit of a joke’, but the progression continued for the teenage sensation.

Geelong cricketer Paris Bowdler made her debut for Melbourne Renegades at the weekend.

RISING Geelong cricket star Paris Bowdler is the latest success story to come from the ‘Renegades Recruit’ program after making her WBBL debut with the Melbourne side.

The 17-year-old wicket keeper received a call on Saturday to make her way to Ballarat as an emergency option for the injured Josie Dooley, but the call was made on Sunday that Bowdler would play against Sydney in the T20.

Bowdler made an undefeated two in her debut innings, coming in at the end of the match to bat, but contributed well with the gloves on despite the loss.

She said she never expected anything to come from entering the television program, instead signing up as a “joke”.

“I wasn’t expecting to actually do the Renegades Recruit at the start, I was just going to do it for a bit of a joke, then everything kept progressing during it and I thought ‘maybe there might be something after it’.

“Opportunities just kept popping up after doing that reality TV show, everything happened at once after that.”

Geelong cricketer Paris Bowdler made her debut for Melbourne Renegades at the weekend.

Bowdler is not the program’s only success story, with last year’s winner, North Geelong’s Tom Mathieson, progressing positively through the Renegades’ program in 2022.

Dooley is expected to return after a short stint out with injury, meaning Bowdler is unlikely to feature again in the near-future, but coach Simon Helmot said after the game he was impressed with her physical and mental performance despite still being a teenager.

Renegades coach Simon Helmot said the program was clearly a success story.

“It shows how authentic and real the Renegades Recruit is, that we’ve actually had a member go through that process and competition and end up playing their very first first-class match for the Renegades,” he said.

“We’re developing a group of players that are in an academy, if you like, and Paris is one of those people that are invited to train and be involved and that’s part of our development program in conjunction with Cricket Victoria and their pathways.

“We need to make sure we keep producing good young players and that’s what we have done with her.”

Originally published as Paris Bowdler debuted for Melbourne Renegades in WBBL