Wickersley Vixens crowned Women and Girls' Indoor Champions of Yorkshire

Wickersley Vixens are the inaugural Women & Girls’ Indoor County Champions of Yorkshire after the finals took place last Saturday March 9 at S20 The Boundary in Sheffield.

The Vixens, who were South Yorkshire indoor champions, beat York University (winners of North and East Yorkshire) by 44 runs in the final game.

Earlier, West Yorkshire’s Royd Rebels (278) had just edged York University (275) by three runs but then lost to Wickersley Vixens in the second fixture of the day.

🎉 See results, performances and averages on Play-Cricket here. 🎉

It’s been a busy autumn and winter across Yorkshire’s three regional leagues for women and girls.

South Yorkshire

In the South Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League, there were 17 teams playing hardball cricket and 38 sides involved in the softball format since October.

Tickhill Tigers were Hardball League Champions and as mentioned, Wickersley Vixens (below) were Softball League Champions before going on to county glory.

Divisional winners:

Softball:
Div 2 – Oughtibridge
Div 3 – Parkhead Panthers
Div 4 – Sheffield Transport
Div 5 – Parkhead Panthers II

Hardball:

Div 2 – Anston
Div 3 – Wickersley Vixens

This led to SYW&GCL Finals day at S20 The Boundary with the spectacle of eight finals all on one day.

The Hardball player of the day was Maddie Blackburn (Norton Oakes Acorns) for taking a hat-trick in their win over Wickersley Vixens.

The Softball player of the day was Bex McCaw (Parkhead Panthers) for taking 5-12 in their win over Treeton Go Greens.

North Yorkshire

The University of York finished level on points with Driffield Town at the top of North & East Yorkshire Indoor League (North). Clifton Alliance, Heslington, Yapham and Bolton Percy were the other teams taking part.

In the North & East Yorkshire Indoor League (South), Sutton-on-Hull came out on top ahead of Driffield Town, Kirkella, Cottingham, Hessle and Hull University. There was then a play-off final with University of York from the other group, won by the latter.

West Yorkshire

By my count, there were five indoor women and girls cricket leagues (according to Play-Cricket). (These are all part of the wider West Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League).

The Huddersfield League was split into two eight-team groups.

Group 1: Kirkheaton & Skelmanthorpe (31), Holmfirth (27), Cawthorne (21), Lepton Highlanders (19), Kirkburton (17), Derby Dale (15) and Derby (6).

Group 2: Almondbury Wesleyan (33), Stainland (29), Thongsbridge (25), Hartshead Moor (21), Thurstonland (17), Scholes (17), Shepley (13), Mirfield (13).

The ten-team Calderdale Indoor League saw Royd Rebels (328) defeat Kings Cross (275) in February to represent West Yorkshire in the county finals.

Bradshaw (41), Blackley (39), Mytholmroyd (37), Kings Cross (29), Sowerby Bridge (29), Sowerby St Peters (27), Barkisland 1sts (25), Barkisland 2nds (21), Triangle (13), Birkby Rose Hill (9).

Horsforth were first in The Leeds Indoor League; an eight-team competition that concluded on Sunday 18 February. Final placings:

Horsforth (35), Pudsey St Lawrence (27), Great Preston (23), North Leeds (23), Thorp Arch & Boston Spa (19), North Leeds (15), Colton Institute (15), Guiseley (11).

Crossflatts came top of the Bradford Indoor League with league positions listed here: Crossflatts (35), Guiseley (29), Skipton (25), Morley (19), Buttershaw St Pauls (19), Mount (15), Bradford Park Avenue (14), East Bierley (8).

Knockout games followed across these leagues and Crossflatts (264) lost out to Royd Rebels (266) on the last ball of the match, with the latter going through to the Sheffield county showpiece.

Phew!

That’s ALOT of indoor cricket and just phenomenal to see.

I’ve learnt that there are 160 clubs in Yorkshire with 300 women’s and/or girls’ teams; a figure that has trebled since 2020.

Attention now turns to the outdoor season with softball and hardball formats scheduled for an April start.

We’ll be covering as much women and girls’ club cricket as we can here on the website across the year – but I need your help!

If you’re interested in writing for us about a club or team, get in touch with me via email on john@cricketyorksh i re.com. I’d like to have as many voices and perspectives as possible as we gear up for future outdoor competitions.

Thanks for reading and all the best with pre-season preparations.