CA’s new strategy to grow women’s game

Nearly 100,000 women and girls now play the game but Cricket Australia want more female participation.

Former Australian captain and current executive Belinda Clark, third from right, wants more girls to take up cricket Picture: Mark Stewart

Cricket Australia has seen a “tremendous growth” in women and girls playing the game with registrations growing by 61 per cent over the past four years. Belinda Clark, the former Australian captain turned cricket executive, wants to bolster the numbers even more in the next four years.

Female registrations have exploded from 47,831 to 76,413 Australia-wide over the last four years, and to capitalise on the growth, CA have launched its new female participation strategy titled ‘The Next Innings: Accelerating Female Participation’.

That strategy has identified what holds girls back or stops them from playing cricket as well as what more can be done to keep them in the game. The Next Innings research also outlined the importance of nurturing the current and future generations of players, officials and administrators.

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In conjunction with external researchers, 12 key insights were gained, including that the game can still be seen as a ‘boy’s sport’ and there is a need for more female coaches.

“We are pushing against a tide of tradition that has been there for a long time, that takes time to overcome but I think we have made some amazing gains, both men and women, boys and girls, in picking up the mantle, in removing the barriers,” Clark said.

“I am under no illusion there is a lot of work still to do and some of those beliefs are deeply held, that’s OK, but we want to find the people that believe in opportunity and accessibility and we want to work with them to keep moving forward.”

“We feel like we have made some really good progress in the last four or five years, both at the elite, domestic and community level. We are really pleased with where we are at but we’ve got to keep moving forward and understand what the current issues are, and that was the purpose of doing the research.”

As the numbers grow, another key moment for the women’s game in recent times was Australia’s victory in the Women’s T20 World Cup final in March, which attracted a record crowd of 86,174 at the MCG.

“The magnitude of the event and sheer emotion that it generated, I think that will be in people’s minds for the rest of their lives,” Clark said.

“If I was a young girl say 12 years old, that would significantly change my perspective on what women and girls can do. I feel so proud about where we got to on that day. I still can’t believe it in some respects … it was just an amazing day. That will have an impact on not only young girls but young boys as well.”

Clark said the Commonwealth Bank through the Growing Cricket for Girls Fund, who have committed $15 million to enabling grassroots female participation initiatives over the past three years are determined as ever to keep growing the game, which means a lot in the long haul.

“We’ve been on the journey for a long time, there were women playing international cricket back in 1934-35 and we are standing on the shoulders of those amazing women that pioneered the game, when it would have been more difficult than it is today,” Clark said.

“I truly believe we have led the way on this front for quite some time, that is because we have invested strategically and financially we have great partners in the Comm Bank. Who have not been around for just five minutes, I mean I was playing in the national team when they were a sponsor of ours. That’s remarkable. They should take great pride in the impact they‘ve had on Australian society with the empowerment of young girls.

“I feel like we have led the way here and the results will come.