Regional Victorian cricket clubs are batting above average for female participation – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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ABC Gippsland
Topic:Women’s National Cricket League
Glen Alvie coach and player Gaby Hynes bowling during team training.  (ABC: Madeleine Stuchbery )
More women and girls are taking up cricket in country Victoria.
Cricket Victoria's 2024-25 census reported a 6 per cent increase in women and girls' participation in the sport.
Community cricket is proving to be the catalyst for shifting long-held gendered ideals with a move towards more equitable access to sport for all. 
Gippsland's Gaby Hynes can recall the moment she decided she was going to play cricket for Australia. 
"I was young. I remember dad was playing, and I was tying one of his shoes," she said. 
"It's on this day I chose that I wanted to play cricket."
The 22-year-old has played cricket for the past 13 years, or more than half her life. 
She's part of a statewide movement where more women are picking up the bat and ball and establishing fledgling teams in isolated farming communities. 
But beyond the data, the humble game is also the catalyst for shifting long-held gendered ideals in sport. 
The main road of Glen Alvie, an hour-and-a-half south-east of Melbourne, scythes through bucolic farmland, and not much else. 
There are no shops, and there's no main street. The recreation reserve stands solitary on the hill, the last bastion of the aging community. 
Ms Hynes not only plays for Glen Alvie, she's the coach of the women's team: a group of players from women in their early 20s, a mother of twins who has never played before, and women in their 40s returning to sport.  
Her father David, is the president of the cricket club, and has played for more than a decade. 
Ms Hynes said she respects the way her dad focused on making the club accessible and friendly for women and girls. 
"He spoke to the committee and said he wanted to change the club."
For a town with not a lot going on, Glen Alvie's community is built on its cricket club, Ms Hynes said. 
"It's what I love. We're not always the strongest cricket team, but we're one of the strongest clubs." 
Gaby Hynes is pursuing her lifelong goal of playing professional cricket.  (ABC: Madeleine Stuchbery )
On the other side of Gippsland, at Meerlieu, south-west of Bairnsdale the local cricket club recently established a female team. 
Leah Simpson has been involved with the club for more than 20 years. Her 14-year-old daughter Lucy is also a strong player for the club, and the team has lost only one match this season. 
"She's quite into hockey, that is her main focus. But she's been selected to stand on the MCG on day three of the Melbourne Test to be a flag bearer. 
"She's going to stand on the ground with the Australian flag," Ms Simpson said. 
"She's one of our leaders on the team."
Meerlieu Cricket Club has set up a women's team in recent years. They have not lost a game this season.  (Supplied: Facebook)
Whether it's uniting as a club, or being celebrated for their wins, Ms Simpson said all the players have rallied around the women's team. 
"We've opened up our club to this whole new team. We have women who are coming to training and then staying for dinner on a Thursday night," she said. 
"It's opened up a little more socialising, and we're supporting one another."
The Australian Women's cricket team after an ICC Women's World Cup match against England at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, India on October 22, 2025. (Reuters: Sahiba Chawdhary)
Across regional Victoria, more women and girls are playing cricket. 
Cricket Victoria's 2024-25 census reported a 6 per cent increase in women and girls' participation in the sport, with registrations for girls aged five to 12 years up by 0.6 per cent. 
Cricket Victoria's general manager of premier and community cricket Liam Murphy said he was pleased with the direction in which regional cricket was moving, "in particular in Gippsland and surrounding areas". 
He said the sport was growing off the back of increased female participation, with around 250 new teams starting up in the past two years. 
"If you look at the female element of the game, the game is a lot more visible, and it's easier to access now than what it was maybe 10 to 15 years ago," he said. 
Providing a level playing field for all people to play cricket benefits clubs beyond the pitch, Mr Murphy said. 
"Clubs and associations that have taken that lens have seen really positive growth in the game," he said. 
"If we choose not to pay attention to our women and girl's participation, it will be at the detriment of the game," he said. 
"Part of that is making sure Cricket Victoria is able to support clubs and associations in giving them the right information, they build out their programs and the importance of making sure that they create an environment that has fair and equitable access to facilities
"I believe that's everyone's responsibility, not just those who have dragged some parts of our community at times kicking and screaming into the conversation," Mr Murphy said. 
At Glen Alvie, Gaby Hynes said despite the support of her club, she often cops pushback from players and spectators with differing views about women in the sport. 
Even at an elite level, players still battle to be taken seriously, fighting for the same recognition their male counterparts get. 
Ms Hynes said establishing an equal playing field for male and female players is making a difference in how the younger male players approach the sport and the women they play with. 
"I've had a pretty tough season," Ms Hynes said. 
"Hopefully we're pushing it up from those young boys, up to the older men who have opinions and we can change them." 
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