Golden Point girls only cricket is aiming for success

This is the first year Golden Point has had a girls only team, and it will be the only one in the competition.

Member of the club committee and father of a girl in the team John Ogilvie said last year the club had three girls that played regularly in the boys team, but were daughters of club members and had grown up in a cricket family.

"From the girls we had playing, we became aware of interest from other girls, and as East Ballarat's girls team dissipated, we were able to make our own girls team," John said.

 About 15 girls have raised their hands to be part of the girls team, with some travelling as far as Myrniong to take part.Simon Ogilvie will coach the team, after being an assistant coach with the Central Highlands girls teams last year and looking for career with Cricket Victoria. 

"I'm passionate about developing the game of cricket, especially within minority groups," Simon said.

"The time was right for me to come on board, and I'm really excited about developing the female side of the game.

"Of the girls joining the team - some have been involved with East Ballarat, some have played with Central Highlands and some had played with Golden Point before, but a large portion haven't played before.

"The majority may not have even picked up a bat before. But from when we had our first training session, which was maybe one month ago, I can already see a great improvement," Simon said. 

"We had a practice match last Saturday in the pouring rain, and everyone at the end was like a drowned rat, but they all said they had a lot of fun, so they're already showing a lot of commitment." 

The team will compete in Ballarat Cricket Association's under-14 red competition on Saturdays. John said their aim for this year and coming years was to build club unity, where the juniors will be involved with the seniors.

"If we have more unity within the club, we hope that will lead to more onfield success," John said.