Cricket Victoria celebrates International Women’s Day

Women’s cricket is at the core of Cricket Victoria’s purpose, highlighted by the introduction of the organisation’s new Women and Girls strategy in November last year.

• The six-year roadmap has three key focus areas that aim to increase women and girls’ participation. These areas are:
• Strengthening Cricket Victoria’s existing footprint in the community.
• Creating a truly integrated competition in Premier Cricket.
• Building the leading female High-Performance system in Australian cricket.

In 2021/22 female participation grew by 73%, including a 60% increase in Woolworths Cricket Blast participants, showing the bright future of cricket in Victoria.

And just last week, we were thrilled to see four Victorians representing Australia at the T20 World Cup, with Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Wareham and Kim Garth all playing their part in our national team’s victory.

Cricket Victoria would also like to congratulate its Head of Female Cricket Sharelle McMahon following the unveiling of her new bronze statue outside John Cain Arena today.

McMahon is just the fifth sportswoman – and the first Victorian-born, hailing from Bamawm in the state’s north – to receive the honour in Victoria, joining Olympians Betty Cuthbert, Shirley Strickland and Nova Peris and footballer Tayla Harris.

Produced by renowned sculpture artists Gillie and Marc, the statue’s creation was supported by the Victorian Government’s Celebrating Female Sporting Icons initiative and the Statues for Equality project, a global movement working to balance gender and racial representation in public statues.
Recognising International Women’s Day, Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins said “The growth of women and girls’ participation is central not just to Victorian cricket but Australian cricket overall.”

“Cricket has led the way in the professionalisation of women’s sport to create visibility, pathways and heroes for future generations. As we reflect this International Women’s Day, our work over the decade ahead is two-fold: continue to grow the number of women and girls playing cricket and drive the leadership and capability growth to ensure we have strong female leaders in our game – whether that’s volunteering, coaching or as an administrator.”

“I’d also like to congratulate Sharelle McMahon who was recognised for her incredible contribution to netball today. It is just recognition for Sharelle’s career on and off the court and we are fortunate to have her experience in our organisation every day”.

Cricket Victoria’s Women and Girls strategy can be downloaded here.