Photo by Shiek Mohamed
Lauderhill, FL, May 1 – Girls Cricket League (GCL) – a T20 tournament for under 14 girls from around the US is set to take place at the Central Broward Regional Park main stadium in Florida, June 16-17, 2018.
GCL aims to provide an all-girls platform to inspire, engage, and develop young female cricketers to be the future national stars of the USA. The tournament is organized by Love Cricket, Inc., a charitable cricket organization, and will feature two to three teams.
“We’re planning a really special weekend for the girls – one that they will never forget. We want them to walk onto that beautiful ground, knowing that they are playing on the same ground that the very best international teams have played on. Hopefully they’ll walk away inspired to work harder to play for this country,” said Joan Alexander-Serrano, co-organizer of the GCL.
Many of the tournament’s participants have been playing hardball cricket in local youth clubs around the country. Several of the players compete in the annual National Youth Cricket League (NYCL) on boys teams.
“For the past four years, I’ve been coaching girls in California who have been toiling with the boys. With the absence of a pipeline for national players and knowing that these girls are playing cricket earnestly year-round, this is simply the right time and the right thing to do,” said Nadia Gruny, co-organizer of the GCL.
Leaders in the national youth cricket domain – the NYCL and the United States Youth Cricket Association – have been sharing resources and providing support for the staging of this tournament.
The tournament is recognized as a great step forward for women’s cricket by not only youth associations but also by ICC Americas’ USA Project Manager, Eric Parthen.
“Both ICC Americas’ USA Project and the developing USA Cricket organization are excited to see the announcement of the Girls Cricket League T20 U14 Girls Tournament scheduled for this summer,” said Parthen. “Specifically, the growth and development of women’s cricket is a priority for USA Cricket, as evidenced by the recent Women’s National Team Tour to Australia, and to see more competitive opportunities developed for potential future National Team players is a great step forward and is consistent with the kinds of future programs we plan to initiate under USA Cricket. On behalf of both the ICC Americas’ USA Project and USA Cricket, we’d like to thank both the organizers of this event and the players and their parents for taking advantage of this great opportunity.”
Email us at [email protected] if you would like to register a player. Player registration closes when all spots are filled. After all players are registered, players will be assigned to teams.
This tournament is made possible by sponsors Metallica Commodities Corp, Cloudalyze Solutions, Dreamcricket.com, the Gold Coast Cricket League, Florida All Cricket and Break Awae Kru.
Questions? Email [email protected]
