More than 120 of the state’s female cricketers, including six from girls Corowa, battled it out last week for the Combined High Schools Girls Cricket State Championship hosted in Albury Wodonga.
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Corowa High School’s Rebecca Carroll, Camryn Abley and Naimh Lavis were called up to play for North Coast while Isabel Bush and sisters Rosie and Clodagh Blain represented Riverina.
For Riverina, it was a great opportunity to play on home soil in Albury-Wodonga with a total of ten female cricket teams representing regions from across NSW travelling to the twin-city to compete for the Belinda Clark Perpetual Trophy and to be selected to represent NSW.
The teams played two 20-20 matches on the first two days, followed by 50 over matches on the third and fourth days.
In what will be their last year playing together, Corowa sisters Rosie and Clodagh Blain said the first two days were “tough” as they faced the fierce Sydney teams.
For fourteen-year-old Clodagh, it was her first NSW Combined High Schools Carnival which she thoroughly enjoyed.
The Riverina girls cricket team, consisting of Corowa cricketers Isabel Bush, Rosie Blain and Clodagh Blain, received the Sally Curry ‘Spirit of Cricket’ Award.
“Everyone was really nice and very encouraging,” Clodagh said.
“It was a lot of fun. I mostly bowled for the week but batted a few times as well.
“It was great to play with my sister because we probably won’t get to do that again for a while.”
Fresh from her recent Riverina Bullets win, Rosie said it was great to be able to part of the Combined High School Competition for the last time.
“It was a great week and pretty cool to have the carnival locally.
“The facilities in Albury and Wodonga were really great and unlike what we usually experience when we go away for competitions. The pitches were very well kept too.”
True to her all-rounder style, Rosie batted, wicket kept and bowled throughout the tournament.
“It was a hard draw. We faced the Sydney teams first. They are always going to be a lot tougher than the country teams because they have a higher pool of talent to pick from,” she said.
“We did beat one Sydney team though. That was a highlight. Overall, we ranked sixth on the ladder, definitely middle ground.”
“I think it was good having different ages and experience within the team because the older players could teach the younger ones.”
A standout performance for Rosie was when she claimed three wickets for 10 runs against Sydney East.
She also played an integral role hitting the winning runs down leg side in the final match against North West.
Riverina Schools Sports Association executive officer Terry Willis said the calibre of players continued to grow each year.
“We have the very best cricketers from across the state battling it out over four days,” he said.
“At the end of the competition there will be two state teams selected.
“We have had fantastic support from the Albury City Council and also Cricket Albury Wodonga; when you have quality people and fantastic facilities in a region like this, it was a no-brainer for us to host the event.
“Girls cricket is taking off, there are not many opportunities like this they get to play against consistent, quality opposition.”
Riverina team manager Nathan Brookes from Mount Austin High School in Wagga Wagga has been a part of the event for 13 years and said it just keeps getting better.
“Some of the girls have gone on to represent the country, so it is a very real dream for these girls to have,” he said.
“There are some really talented cricketers here this year and it is great to see all the teams and support coming and staying in our part of the state.”
The 12 representing NSW regions included Hunter, North Coast, North West, Riverina, South Coast, Sydney East, Sydney North, Sydney South West, Sydney West and Wester.
Rosie Blain has since been selected for the NSWCHSSA Seconds team for 2022.
