White Fern Sara McGlashan will be in Masterton tomorrow to help boost efforts being made to enhance the profile of women's cricket in the Wairarapa region.
McGlashan's visit was organised by Cricket Wairarapa development officer Sam Curtis who is keen to grow the number of women playing cricket here during the
2010-11 season.
"Women's cricket has been on the slide locally for awhile now and we need to work hard to rectify that situation," Curtis said.
"Sara is probably the biggest name in the women's game right now so we couldn't have anyone better to push things along."
McGlashan, whose brother Peter has also played for New Zealand, is based in Christchurch where she works for New Zealand Cricket as their national women's development officer, a position which has her travelling the country.
First selected in the White Ferns in 2002, McGlashan has been an outstanding contributor for them on the international scene and is now widely regarded as their best batswoman. She has also made an impact in football, having been a member of the national under-19 squad.
McGlashan will visit primary and secondary schools in Masterton during school hours, starting with Masterton Intermediate and then moving on to Wairarapa College, St Matthew's Collegiate and Chanel College. At each venue, she will be involved in hands-on coaching sessions and will take time to answer any questions.
Tomorrow evening, McGlashan and Central Hinds women's coach, Doug Bracewell, will take a coaching clinic which will be aimed at women who have left school and are interested in trying their hand at cricket. It will start at Wairarapa College at 5.30pm and is expected to last for about an hour.
Curtis is hopeful this clinic will attract enough support for serious consideration to be given to establishing an organised women's competition for the Wairarapa, probably in the New Year.
"Obviously, it all depends on numbers but we are optimistic they will be sufficient to at least take things a step further," Curtis said.
The only women's teams currently playing in the local region on a regular basis are the first XIs from Wairarapa College and St Matthew's Collegiate and they participate in the Saturday morning schoolboys grade.
Curtis would also like to see a Wairarapa women's team competing on the inter-provincial stage within two years.
