Central Districts women’s T20 cricket tournament debuts in Whanganui

Cricket Wanganui's general manager Pete Bowman is excited for Whanganui to host the first tournament.

The first Central Districts T20 Tournament for women will be at Cricket Whanganui’s home ground, Victoria Park.

The tournament, showcasing the Central Districts' best female cricket players, is on February 28 to March 2, with the first game starting at 3pm on Friday, February 28.

Six Central Districts-associated teams will compete for the title, as well as the Mike Shrimpton Trophy.

The teams are the Nelson Nyxons, Marlborough, Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki and Manawatū.

Cricket Whanganui general manager Pete Bowman said he was excited the city was hosting the inaugural tournament.

“It’s a massive win for Cricket Whanganui to be holding the district tournament,” Bowman said.

“We have arguably the best women in Central Districts cricket coming to Whanganui, which leverages off the great work our female development officer Verity Johnson has been doing over the last couple of years.

“It will give young girls and women in the community an opportunity to see the best of the best playing – I’m stoked to be hosting.”

The ICC Women’s World Cup trophy recently won by the White Ferns will be on display on the first day.

The Women's T20 World Cup will be on display at Victoria Park on Friday, February 28. Photo / Photosport

Central Districts Cricket Association’s performance and pathways coach Jamie Watkins said New Zealand Cricket offered the tournament the chance to showcase the trophy.

“That is a real bonus for the weekend. With the World Cup in New Zealand, it will be a great opportunity to get the trophy there on the Friday – not only to stand alongside the tournament but to also give the kids a chance to see it and get a look at the district’s cricket,” he said.

“New Zealand Cricket mentioned it when we were going through that process of trying to get support and we jumped at it – we are really appreciative.”

Watkins was looking forward to Central Districts' (CD) top female talent playing at the same venue on the same weekend.

“Due to our geographic spread and challenges with Nelson and Marlborough and the other four districts, to get all the players together is a challenge – so from a CD perspective, this is a huge opportunity for us,” Watkins said.

“From a talent ID and talent perspective, it is huge to be able to get the best 60-70 cricketers in the region together. It is a pretty rare opportunity for us to be able to do that.”

He said Victoria Park was the appropriate venue to host such a competition.

“When I was growing up and coming through, Whanganui was a real stronghold in terms of age-group and senior district tournaments – it is just such a wonderful venue,” Watkins said.

“In the last couple of years, Cricket Whanganui in conjunction with the council have put a lot of work in getting the pitches back up to standards. Cricket Whanganui were really keen to host and it is an ideal place for us to hold tournaments.

“Victoria Park is a fantastic place and we are really excited to bring a tournament of this level back and the opportunity it provides.”

Ex-Whanganui player Charlotte Stent playing at Victoria Park.

Bowman was keen for women’s cricket and cricket as a whole in Whanganui to grow in the future and believed the tournament was a step towards that.

“Whanganui used to be the jewel in the crown of Central Districts Cricket and we’re certainly heading down that path to make that happen again,” Bowman said.

“I strongly believe in the ‘see it, be it’ principle. Because we are in that relatively new space of bringing girls and women back into the game, I think being able to see that there is a solid pathway to the Hinds programme is positive.

“In the past, girls may not have thought that cricket was the option for them. What we are seeing now is that they can go out there and make this a career path if that is what they want to do.

“We know that there are girls and women out there that want to play cricket and know more so this is a perfect opportunity to see the best that we’ve got.”

Bowman said Cricket Whanganui had seen “real quality” with some girls playing in boys' teams as well as the age-group representatives.

He hoped the community would watch the tournament, view the World Cup and see that cricket was a possibility for young girls and women.

“We’re hoping to see some really classy cricket at Victoria Park – hoping to see the best of the best and see a whole bunch of the community coming out to support women’s cricket.”