Newcastle will become the first association in NSW, possibly Australia, to offer a full pathway of junior cricket for girls this summer.
An all-girls Blasters Smash, for ages five to 10 years, and Stage 3 competition (under 14 to under 18) has been added to the existing Stage 1 (under 12) and Stage 2 (under 14) offerings already in place for Newcastle Junior Cricket Association (NJCA).
Tim Cox, Cricket NSW Newcastle and Lake Macquarie cricket manager, told the Newcastle Herald having four stages of junior cricket for girls was a first in the state and catered to a range of players.
"We're looking to the representative girls to play all-girls [stage 3] cricket for the first time," Cox said during the Cricket NSW Country Blitz three-day engagement tour this week.
"They've been playing mixed cricket, so to bring their friends along and play stage three on a Thursday afternoon.
"If they still want to play Saturday morning or grade cricket, they still can, but they can play midweek in their age group in all-girls cricket as well."
Australian all-rounder Ash Gardner, fresh from winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham in August, was on hand to offer tips and advice at an all-girls clinic held as part of the Country Blitz at Charlestown District Cricket Club nets on Monday afternoon.
"It's super important going around and trying to spread the message of not just playing cricket but playing sport," Gardner told the Herald.
"It's really important these days because it's so easy for kids to sit at home, sit on a computer, sit on a PlayStation and not actually be active.
"When I was growing up it was something that I looked forward to every day after school, going to some sort of sporting training."
The 25-year-old welcomed girls having a clear pathway through to the top level.
"It's really important for them to see a pathway to actually know that they can achieve certain things," Gardner said.
"I know for myself growing up, I just assumed that I had to play with the men if I wanted to play for Australia. That just shows how little media that team was getting even though they were as successful as the guys.
"They weren't getting that coverage whereas nowadays we're always on TV. They can actually watch their heroes and that's super important that they can see someone they want to aspire to be like and hopefully strive to play at the highest level.
"But, if it's the local level they want to play for, that's just as important, as long as they're staying active."
Senior women's cricket in Newcastle also looks set to grow this year.
The Newcastle District Cricket Association (NDCA) Women's T20 midweek competition exploded from five to nine teams in its third instalment last summer. There were four teams for the maiden season.
NDCA chair Paul Marjoribanks said early interest looked strong with the likelihood of up to 14 teams entered across potentially two divisions of senior women's cricket.
"We've asked clubs to nominate teams and quite a few of them will have two teams this year," Marjoribanks said.
"We've also had expressions of interest, all verbal at this stage, from other clubs who have not had a team before so we're potentially looking at running a two-division competition. That's what we're planning for, so the growth just continues in our women's competition.
"We've got a very clear pathway from the young girls playing, who now have their own competitions, through to the adult competitions and then through to representative cricket. It is really a clear pathway and it's quite achievable to be a local cricketer and go through the different steps and find yourself playing a high level."
The Herald also understands Newcastle could have a team entered in the NSW Premier Cricket under-18 women's competition played in Sydney as early as this summer with the possibility of first and second-grade sides the following season.
A host of Newcastle cricketers already play in the NSW Premier women's league on Sundays.
NJCA all-girls Blasters will be played Monday afternoons in Lake Macquarie and on Fridays in Newcastle.
Stage 1 and Stage 2 all-girls cricket is played Saturdays and Stage 3 on Thursday afternoons.
