‘Help the game grow further’ – the ICC Global Development Squad story

The likes of Gaby Lewis, Lucy O’Reilly and Shauna Kavanagh of Ireland, the Netherlands’ Sterre Kalis, Heather Siegers and Babette de Leede, Kaia Arua and Ravini Oa of Papua New Guinea, Sarah Bryce and Kathryn Bryce of Scotland, and Esha Oza of the United Arab Emirates were in the line-up.

“We had three seasons with the Women’s Big Bash League, sending rookies over to the league, and we thought we’d partner with the ECB Super League, and send a team to play warm-up games against the Super League teams and give them more match practice against world-class opposition,” explained Holly Colvin, the Women’s Cricket Manager, ICC.

The young women were unanimous in their appreciation for the programme, with Kavanagh calling it a ‘great initiative’ and Sarah Bryce adding, ‘Hopefully it can carry on, because it’s just going to help the game grow even further.”

Once the squad reached England, they were put through fitness, testing, and some match action against Women’s Cricket Super League sides. The players’ techniques were analysed on biomechanics, and sent back to their respective cricket boards.

“Good opportunity to join them, they play in the high-level tournaments, to learn from them and get more ideas and experience from them,” said Oa, listing the positives from the experience.