Women’s Big Cricket Month! Club Focus – Haverhill CC

We caught up with Emma Ellis from Haverhill Cricket Club to tell us about the latest exciting developments at the club and her journey in cricket….

1. Tell us a bit about yourself (name, where you’re from, a bit of background)

Emma Ellis; 22 years old; Haverhill, Suffolk; I have always been interested in sport, playing in a variety of sport teams at school. I became a young sports ambassador while at Castle Manor Academy, and also took part in the Lady Taverners competition. During the following years I studied A Level PE and coached the schools Lady Taverners team alongside my PE teacher. This then led onto me completing my ECB Level 2 coaching. 

2. When and how did you first get involved with cricket? Who encouraged you to get involved?

I first got involved in cricket at the age of 6 years. My older brothers were playing at the time and my dad is a coach at the club, therefore I had been around cricket from a very young age. 

3. What impact has cricket had on your life?

Cricket has been a big part of my life for many years, playing junior cricket for Haverhill Cricket Club and also playing for Suffolk from under 11 to under 17. With being the only girl playing at Haverhill Cricket Club when I first started, and therefore having to play alongside boys throughout my junior cricket, it made me eager to help influence the removal of gender stereotyping within the sport.

4. What’s your involvement with cricket at the moment?

I am now a level 2 coach at Haverhill Cricket Club, coaching within the junior section and now also the Women and girls section. I have played a couple of games for Haverhill 3rds this year, although I am looking forward to playing Women’s cricket again next season. 

5. What’s been the best thing about getting involved with this project (Women & Girls’ cricket)?

This project to create a Womens and Girls section at Haverhill Cricket Club has been a vision for the club for a long time, so over last winter we decided to try push it within the town and I started advertising through social media. With the amazing support I have had from the Club and from Suffolk cricket it has been a great success. Now seeing around 25 women/girls regularly attending the weekly Women’s and Girls sessions at the club has been a delight to see. We have also managed to run two interclub softball games, which everyone involved has throughly enjoyed. I hope it continues to grow next season so the junior girls have a team to move up into, as this is something that wasn’t there for me at the time and therefore is the ultimate goal. 

6. What’s your vision for your involvement with cricket in the future?

I will continue to coach at my local club for as long as I can, to give back to the club and coaches that influenced my cricketing journey so much. My plan is to also play for our newly formed Women’s and girls team, continuing to promote Women’s and girls cricket in the local area.

7. What’s your hope for the game as a whole and specifically for women and girls?

I hope that the rise in women and girls playing cricket continues to increase, with more clubs starting up women’s and girls sections. I hope that media coverage positively influences this change.

8. Anything else you’d like to share about your journey?

Depending on the restrictions due to Coronavirus, we intend to run winter training sessions for the whole club. During this time our aim is to continue introducing hardball cricket to the women and girls, in preparation to play hardball friendly games next season. The long term vision for the following season is for the team to be playing league cricket for the club. 

Tags: ECB, Girls Cricket, Haverhill CC, Womens Cricket

Categorised in: Womens Cricket