Galloway Girls in Perth
On Sunday 23rd August a group of Galloway youngsters attended the annual Girls’ Kwik Cricket Tournament at Doo’cot Park in Perth. The girls came from all corners of the region to make up the team and were also joined by Katy Anderson from Dumfries Cricket Club as well as Marley and Bella from Deanston in Stirling.
After the mammoth trip the girls arrived ready to play and weren’t long in getting started their first game against Dundee. Galloway skipper, Orla Montgomery, won the toss and put the opposition in to bat and limiting the Dundee team to 213 for 3. In response Galloway managed to notch up 233 for 4 and winning their first match by 30 runs! A great start for a team who have never played together before!
The adjusted format of the game means that every player in the team gets to bat and every player in the team must have a go at bowling. Wickets result in a loss of points rather than someone being dismissed. In this format the score also starts on 200.
In their second match Galloway came up against Falkland and lost the toss meaning they batted first. The youngsters posted an impressive score of 272 and only lost one wicket. Batting pairs Chloe Maxwell & Orla Montgomery and Hope Taylor & Alison Fry were the top run scorers, posting 25 and 33 respectively. Falkland, a fairly new team to the game, struggled to chase Galloway’s high score and only managed to score 214 for 5. A second win for the Galloway squad!
In their third match of the day Galloway found themselves up against Carlton – a notoriously strong side. Galloway won the toss and chose to field first. Some great bowling and hard work in the field kept the scoreboard low and Carlton scored 215 for 6, whereas our girls racked up an incredible 255 for 1 to take the win! This was an especially pleasing win and gave the girls a real boost. By this time in the day the girls had got to know each other, were aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and starting to function more as a team than a group of players.
Galloway’s final match was against Arbroath – a team who had been wiping the floor with all other teams all day. The Arbroath girls lost the toss and were put in to bat first scoring a gigantic score of 291 for 1. The first over of the game was exceptionally economical with Orla Montgomery (sponsored by CAM Engineering, Castle Douglas) kicking things off with a maiden wicket! However the batsmen from Arbroath were experienced and able to hit most of the balls for 6, scoring quickly and easily without having to leave their crease. Galloway really struggled against Arbroath’s strong bowling and only scored 192 for 7 in response. The first loss of the day but a game played in a friendly atmosphere.
3 wins from 4 was an amazing achievement for the Galloway girls and a huge improvement on last year when they didn’t win a game. Overall it was a great team performance with numerous people taking catches, taking wickets and scoring runs. Following the tournament the girls received certificates and attended a Q&A session with the “Wildcats” (Scotland’s Ladies squad.) This was a lovely round off to a great day as they were able to meet the Scotland team, get their autographs and ask them questions about their careers.
Galloway Cricket Club welcomes girls of all ages – our current members range from 6 to 50+! If you are interested in finding out more please contact Natalie on 07872 909 010.
