A bus load of excited Dumfries and Galloway high school girls arrived at Stirling County Cricket Club on Monday 13th June for the annual secondary school tournament organised by Kari Carswell and Cricket Scotland.
Both Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie High Schools fielded a S1-3 team and a S4-6 team. The junior teams faced sides from across Scotland and were up against some considerably more experienced opposition – Castle Douglas being in pool A and Dalbeattie in pool B. Both teams representing Galloway Cricket Club improved with each game and their teamwork was exceptional. The Dalbeattie girls, some of whom were attending a competition for the first time, performed extremely well under the pressure of the day and won games which might not have been expected taking into account their inexperience.
In the senior section, Castle Douglas showed their experience and hunger for the win. They played tactically, keeping the field tight and looking for the second run whenever they got the chance. This paid off as they were placed runners up and were incredibly proud of this achievement, bringing home silver medals!
Dalbeattie, the less experienced team played very well but were faced with some tough opposition with a lot more experience than the girls from Galloway. However several players were picked out by one of the Scotland national squad, who was helping on the day, for their all-round performance, batting, bowling and fielding.
A brand new Dumfries and Galloway Regional Girls Development Centre has been set up to cater for under 16 girls in the area looking to improve their cricket. This is the first step in the pathway towards the national squad and we hope that many of the girls from Galloway will take up this fantastic opportunity to be coached by some of the current national team. This will run throughout the summer holidays, every Thursday 2-5pm at Nunholm Sports Centre in Dumfries. For more information please contact Natalie on 07872 909 010.
