It’s not every day that a tennis ball cannon is fired at intermediate girls, but on a cracking hot summers day in Hamilton yesterday, this was the scene for the catching competition at the Waikato University grounds. The Milo shield Festival was a Hamilton Junior Cricket initiative to get girls out there and enjoying cricket. It was a great success, with over sixty intermediate girls from three intermediate schools taking part.
There to offer tips and assist with the development of the girls skills were White Ferns Sara McGlashan, Nicola Browne and Morna Nielsen, who were all impressed with the calibre of the players. “It is great to see the girls get a chance to shine and show their cricketing ability”, Nielsen said, “It really makes these events a worthwhile endeavour to ensure the continuing development of the women’s game”.
The Milo Shield Festival was the result of the White Ferns Roadshow, which hit Hamilton two weeks ago. The interest sparked from this roadshow enabled Elaine Nolan, Hamilton Girls Development Officer, to co-ordinate the event. She was thrilled with the success of the White Ferns roadshow as it was a great way for young girls to be introduced to cricket and help make more people within the community aware of the New Zealand women’s cricket team, the White Ferns.
