Mount Cricket Club Women celebrate their first year

Mount Cricket Club are a great example of a women’s team that has hit the ground running since it launched a year ago.

I caught up with Head Coach & Development Officer Sanna Ahmed to find out how this fledgling side are getting on.

She tells me that the idea came after a conversation with Soyeb Kayat of the Yorkshire Cricket Board: “I was asked how I felt about developing a women’s team at Mount Cricket Club – similar to my work in North Huddersfield where I’d begun cricket sessions for women and girls and coached at Birkby Rose Hill.”

She admits that it was a mix of emotions, challenging sure, but having been raised in Batley, there was the appeal of doing something important where she grew up:

“Despite the workload, I believed it to be an honour to provide opportunities for women and girls to have access to cricket locally. And so the juggle commenced!

The one-year anniversary in April is a chance to pause and acknowledge what’s been achieved since the cricket sessions at Mount Cricket Club began on Friday evenings.

Finding players

An idea is one thing but galvanising everyone into action and bringing it to life is quite another. But, as we’ve seen all over Yorkshire as the women and girls’ game grows in popularity, demand is absolutely there.

For Sanna, a signing-on event, complete with drinks and cake, did the trick. Some players are from her connections in the sports community while others reached out through social media or groups.

Friends and family were also key… From support home and away to volunteering at the club and running errands in the background, they helped get the word out.

Apparently, they join in to play: friends with family in tow and family with friends in tow.

There has been help with coaching too: “I’d like to thank Kevin Gresham, Katie Stewart, Sara Begg and Lee Booth. Their guidance and expertise has been invaluable throughout my journey as a cricket coach.”

Meanwhile, Kiddies Kingdom is sponsoring all of Mount Cricket Club’s teams for this season, having agreed a two-year partnership last year.

She said this of the team: “They’re a fabulous bunch. I can say the impact has been positive. It was gauged very early on that almost all women and girls want to play at a competitive level.”

That led to jumping in with a softball team that entered the West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League. For some, batting and bowling was completely new but the dedication was there to see.

Sanna, an ECB Level 2 coach, blended the need to improve in order to compete with just having fun. After all, there’s time for both in any squad of players:

“We practised with conviction sometimes. Other times we got together, got in some hits, chucked a ball around, giggled and fell to the floor laughing! To my utter dismay as a coach of course!”

Momentum built with some of the Mount CC Under-15s going on to hardball training over last winter with feedback from parents demonstrating the girls had really enjoyed their cricket.

The next step was entry into the West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League’s indoor season which went well and sets them up for a second season outdoors.

Sanna said: “The team is very nurturing and supportive of one another. The team consists of students along with players from different working backgrounds in full-time employment. They’re committed and support the club where possible.”

That sense of community meant that Mount Cricket Club hosted a girls’ U13s cricket festival last summer. A couple of their teens, including Sanna’s daughter Aisha, helped with coaching and mentoring, as well as scoring and umpiring games.

Likewise, players from the women’s team supported the Chance to Shine U15s tournament in winter with umpiring, scoring and organisation for the day. The girls’ themselves are empowered to get involved in planning, decision making and working together.

A year can feel like a long time in cricket or go by in the blink of an eye – but starting from an idea, Mount Cricket Club’s women’s team has already come so far.

“I feel really proud when I see the skills and different talents, even if it’s the gift of the gab!

All of these girls and women are playing cricket in a safe space; they’ve developed positive relationships based on mutual respect and friendships with each other.

I do marvel at them from time to time.”

Sanna’s thoughts are turning to helping more women and girls discover and enjoy the game, as well as finding volunteers to help too:

“The plan for this season is growth: Get more women and girls playing cricket, get more coaches, scorers and umpires involved. Most importantly, it’s to provide lots of opportunities for women and girls to play fun and competitive cricket throughout the year.”

Mount Women’s 1st XI start off on 5 May away at Collingham & Linton in the Leeds East softball division of the West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League.