The Blaze’s Grace Ballinger, Michaela Kirk and Marie Kelly recently presented prizes at the inaugural Batfast T20 Tournament awards evening at Trent Bridge, with girls across the county recognised for their efforts in the virtual cricket competition. 

In teams of four - at least one of whom must never have played cricket - girls in U11, U13 and U15 age categories faced 20 overs of virtual bowling from Ballinger and her regional teammates Lucy Higham, Sophie Munro, Kathryn Bryce and Kirstie Gordon.

Prizes were given out to the top three individual and team scorers in each category, as well as the leading performers according to Batfast’s bat data monitor, Stancebeam, which records, amongst other metrics, bat swing velocity. 

Martyn Hill, Nottinghamshire’s Women and Girls’ officer, explained the value of technology and this particular intervention in reaching his goals for female cricket in the county. 

“Fundamentally, our aim is to get as many women and girls into cricket as possible, and by taking away any barriers, be that equipment, cost or access, that ambition can be realised,” he said. 

“We worked closely with Batfast to set up the event, and our goals are very much aligned in terms of encouraging participation, so the partnership is really authentic, and we are grateful for their work in helping bring this to fruition.

“We hope this is the first of many Batfast T20 Tournaments for girls in Nottinghamshire, so that as many people as possible can enjoy the thrill of feeling bat on ball.”

Batfast Chief Operating Officer Navdeep Sethi echoed the sentiment, emphasising the importance of providing an avenue for individuals within communities to access cricket, regardless of their background, ability or prior experience. 

In addition to the awards ceremony, the participants, friends and family in attendance were treated to a Q&A session from The Blaze cohort on technology in cricket, as well as life at Trent Bridge. 

“Technology is massively important, and it’s really cool that it can be used in this way,” all-rounder Kirk said. 

“We do a lot of video analysis before our games, we sit down and watch the batters and bowlers we’re playing against, it helps us plan and it enables us, as elite players, to review our own performance and ultimately improve.

“But whether it is used for marginal gains, or helping people get into cricket, it has to be a force for good, and this is an awesome initiative which everyone can get behind.”

Batfast T20 Tournament Team Winners

U11 - Farndon 

U13 - West Bridgford School

U15 - West Bridgford School

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England at Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge will host three international matches in 2023, with the sole Test Match of the Women’s Ashes taking place at Nottinghamshire’s historic home, before England’s men face New Zealand and Ireland in IT20 and ODI contests respectively. 

Secure your seats at trentbridge.co.uk/internationals.