Sunrisers

June 10, 2021

Sunrisers cricket is the regional women’s elite cricket franchise which covers East Anglia and involves the counties Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, and Suffolk, and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

 

In Suffolk, we have many talented youngsters in the Emerging Player Pathway (EPP) which aims to further develop players bordering selection for either the Sunrisers Academy or full squad. This season we have one player nominated for the Sunrisers Academy from Suffolk, Jazz Westley, who plays her club cricket at Mildenhall CC.

 

 

Here is what Jazz has to say about her involvement in the Sunrisers Academy:

 

“It’s a great opportunity to be involved in the Sunrisers Academy; I believe that it’s broadening the horizons for women’s cricket in the future, allowing a more direct pathway to a career in female sport. I have really enjoyed training with the Sunrisers as the coaches allow you to choose areas of development in your own game, they will advise and support these improvements as they see fit. It has also been great to understand the game in a tactical sense, which is something that I have never worked on prior to Sunrisers.

On joining Sunrisers it was an eye-opening experience to see the diverse support staff who work alongside you to get the most out of an individual, i.e. the range of coaches, physio, nutritionist, analyst and strength and conditioning coaches.”

 

 

Essex captain and Sunrisers full squad member Kelly Castle explains more about the setup and the amazing opportunities the Sunrisers franchise has created for women and girls in East Anglia:

 

If you’d have asked me this time last year that I would have an opportunity to be playing professional cricket, I would have laughed. But sometimes, dreams do come true. Last year, the emergence of the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint trophy changed the landscape of women’s cricket, providing a pathway for all ages to the elite environment. Building upon the success of the Kia Super League, the new regional competition opened opportunities for those on the perimeter of breaking through, and the development of the Sunrisers provided this environment within the Eastern Region.

I was fortunate enough to gain a full-time professional contract with the Sunrisers which allows me to train full-time and have access to high performance facilities. Both winter and summer schedules are pretty busy, with the winter primarily focusing on specific technical skills and fitness whilst then transferring those skills into the summer. During the winter we would train four times a week, then progressing into the summer of a similar training schedule with the addition of matches. In COVID times, there have been many challenges throughout the past year, however, something we are all looking forward to as a team is welcoming fans to watch our brand of cricket.

It is so important for people to be able to access watching cricket, and we hope we can inspire those within our region to pick up a bat and to start playing no matter their age. Also, we hope to show girls emerging through their county or school pathway, that being a professional cricketer doesn’t have to be a dream, it can come true.

With the addition of T20 as well as 50-over cricket this year, we hope to continue to develop and grow as a team, and to get out first win on the board. As we are a brand-new team, we are still growing and learning together, however, we hope to build upon a successful winter and look forward to competing in the season ahead.

 

 

For more information on Sunrisers cricket and to support their campaigns in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint trophy and 50 over competition go to the Sunrisers website or follow their social media sites @Sunriserscrick.

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