The home of Golden Point Cricket Club will be one of eight regional hubs statewide with upgrades to lighting, new turf wicket training facilities and the redevelopment of the women’s change rooms. 

“What the regional centres will do is give us opportunities to look at those (first class) games.

“We’re getting more and more cricket content besides the traditional first class four day matches that is attractive cricket to come and watch. We’ve seen the big bash games have warm up games and exhibition games in the country that have hugely supported.”

Golden Point cricketer Maddy Ogilvie has been playing since she was 11. In just seven years she has seen “phenomenal” growth in women’s cricket. Their home turf currently has just one women’s change room.

“It’s humbling to hear that it’s finally being recognised that girls are a part of this awesome sport so it’s really good to see. 

“I started off in a boys team in the under 14s, there were three girls in that team and now in our club we have two-and-a-half teams of girls and it’s just been phenomenal to see that growth in women’s cricket and now other clubs are joining in with that in Ballarat.”

To see first class games at her home ground would be a “dream”, she said. 

“It would just be so good to see, having it in our own backyard. It would be really good to see that high level of performance.”

The upgrade includes a $1.5 million contribution from City of Ballarat and $500,000 from the state government.

Wendouree MP Sharon Knight said she hoped to see “the days of women getting changed in their cars absolutely gone”. 

“It’s not fair and it’s not right, girls and women deserve the same facilities as boys and men do.”