by Catherine Hanley
Thursday, December 6, 2001

More girls' cricket needs to be played in schools.

That's the view of most people who want to see the standard of the women's game improve, but as yet few schools have latched on to the idea. There are some notable exceptions however and some schools are getting things spectacularly right. One is Brighton College in Sussex, which has a thriving squad of female players.

John Spencer, master in charge of cricket, explains that the roots of their success can be traced back to the early 1990s when Clare Connor, the current England captain, was a pupil and played in the college's 1st XI.

"We've always had a policy of fielding girls in boys' teams if they're good enough, not just in cricket but in other sports as well. It's still going on: last year two girls came on our tour to Barbados and played in the 2nd XI."

The policy is reaping its rewards. One of those girls, Kate Oakenfeld, is in the England Under-17 squad, while the other, Laura Marsh – who took a hat-trick in one tour match against 16- and 17-year-old Barbadian boys – has also been selected for England training.

Girls' cricket at Brighton College is not just for the elite, though – anyone can have a go. It all started in uncomplicated fashion, as Spencer explains: "A number of girls said that they would like to play, so we arranged practice for them."

Sounds simple. So why is it so difficult for others to do? The school has now organised girls' cricket for four years, and currently has a squad of around 20 players. Only one XI is fielded at present, but there are plans – led by Connor, now a teacher at the school – to set up a junior team.

But the path is not always smooth and obstacles have been thrown in the school's way. One of these was last season's cancellation of a national indoor tournament for girls: the Brighton squad had been looking forward to it, but the chance to play was taken away from them.

Rumour has it that the idea behind the cancellation was to encourage girls to play cricket outdoors rather than inside, but if this was the case the plan was self-defeating. With the school year starting in September, indoor cricket offers an introduction for girls who have never played before. If they can't learn a few basics during the winter they are less likely to take up cricket in the summer, and may never play at all.

Spencer firmly believes that the competition should be re-instated, for everyone's benefit. "It is an enjoyable tournament and a chance for girls to play against others of the same standard: cancelling it doesn't help anyone, and we need to do all we can to encourage more girls to play."

Brighton College, and others like them, have set the example: it is up to the ECB to encourage other schools to follow in their footsteps.

Catherine Hanley lives and works in Sheffield

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