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University of Bristol Women’s Cricket Club become the latest university club to partner with Her Game Too Cricket, the campaign is pleased to announce.
Women’s cricket has been a feature at the University of Bristol for around 15 years and, along the way, it has faced its fair share of challenges.
As with many aspects of life, sport and university, the Covid-19 pandemic heavily affected Women’s cricket at UoB, bringing a halt to what had been steady growth since 2010 as numbers dropped significantly. However, thanks to the hard work and dedication of its members, the club has not only recovered but excelled and grown impressively.
For the fourth consecutive year, Bristol Women’s 1st will be playing in the BUCS Southern Premier League, having defeated Worcester University Cricket Club in the playoffs in June.
Alongside their First XI, who have been going from strength to strength in recent times, the club have made a concerted effort to develop new players, establishing a development squad in the process.
Last year, they were soon rewarded for their hard work as the development team won the Gloucestershire Foundation Indoor Cricket League – a hugely impressive feat for the university’s ever-growing Women’s section.
It was not only on the field where the club was experiencing success as, in the 2023/24 season, the club comprised of a record 30 members and, as a result, were provided with the opportunity to establish a second Women’s team. This Second XI were entered into the BUCS Western Tier 1 League.
Outside of University of Bristol, the Women’s Cricket Club also entered a mutually beneficial partnership with University of the West of England (UWE). Through this collaboration, UoBWCC were able to better facilitate the involvement of their Second XI in the BUCS Wester Tier 1 League, but also enabled players from UWE to compete at a high standard of BUCS cricket which, due to their low numbers, would have been impossible otherwise.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, UoBWCC are hopeful that they can rekindle this positive partnership and enable more women from across universities to get involved in cricket.
To launch their brand-new Women’s Second XI, the team made the trip to the University of Cambridge – who had also recently established their own Second XI - for two simultaneous friendly matches.
The fixtures provided the teams with valuable time in the middle – with it being, for some, the first chance to experience hard-ball cricket - as well as the opportunity to celebrate the debut of their new women’s teams.
For the season ahead in 2024/25, the teams at UoBWCC are feeling extremely optimistic off the back of record turn outs for their “Give it a Go’ sessions and the performances at squad trials.
Over the winter, the club will be competing in the BUCS indoor tournament as well as hoping to field two very strong teams in the summer.
As part of the University of Bristol Women’s Cricket Club’s commitment to pushing Women’s cricket forward, the club are delighted to be partnering with Her Game Too.
On the partnership, the UoBWCC Committee said: “We are thrilled to enter this partnership with Her Game Too.
Together we will foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for women in cricket!
Our club has seen significant growth in the past few years, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.”
Charlotte Ashton, Her Game Too Cricket’s University Ambassador, said: “I'm so proud to partner with the university of Bristol.
The work they're doing with their women's cricket department is amazing and I can't wait to help them grow even further!"
To learn more about cricket at the university...
Instagram: @uobcc
You can follow Charlotte’s work with our university partners on Instagram at: @universities.hergametoocricket
