Meet the women behind the Surrey feathers
June is Women's BIG Cricket Month and we want you to get to know our fabulous team of women from the Surrey Cricket Foundation and Surrey County Cricket Club!
Let's get started!
Mary O'Farrell - Our Women's Big Cricket Month Winner
What made you want to get involved in cricket?: I started cricket purely socially at Chertsey several years ago as a late arriving 40-year-old , as a group of ladies we agreed to " Just give it a go " and started training weekly , honestly it may have been more a case of if you can't beat them join them!
What is your best cricketing memory?: I've been lucky to travel to Brisbane and Galle for some tests , which have been lifetime memory making trips , beer , new friends what is not to love
BUT above that this year I got to share an innings with one of our young ladies , whom I have watched grow from a colt to a senior player and who I happily call a friend . She achieved her first 50 , we closed the innings both not out , she raking up 67 in the end, mine was mid-20s , but the absolute joy , pride and happiness that bubbled around us , our team and coaches as she raised her bat to the club and we walked off together will stay with me for ever. ( It was also the first ladies 50 @ Chertsey so will go down in legend either way - Go Molly Sellars ! )
Why do you volunteer / play? What is your motivation?: My motivation was totally re set this year , Along with a team at Chertsey I organised a girls and ladies open evening at the club , we had 50 + attendees, existing members , new players , old & young all out there . The volume was as expected ( loud , loud loud ) , but the sheer positive vibe on the night was infectious , experiences were shared , new passions ignited. And as a club we converted those new attendees into our playing membership pretty much immediately .
We now have girls and ladies training in every age group , as standalone girls’ teams , Senior leagues , Club Social leagues , etc. We have a great club , our ladies and girls are open , engaging , competitive , supportive and can manage a drink or 2 . How can I not be motivated when I see and feel that energy all around ....?
Denise Bamford
Role: Human Resources Officer
Background: Studied Leisure Management with Event Management at university and since graduating I have always had a career working with the Sports and Leisure industry. I am a mum of one to my little boy Oliver. Been at the Oval for 18 years in various roles such as coordinating and sales. Moved into my HR role back in 2011.
Best Cricketing Memory: My best cricketing memory was the 2005 Ashes. The atmosphere at the ground over the 5 days was amazing both on and off the pitch.
What made me pursue a career in sport? I never ever saw myself pursuing a career in sport/ cricket. However, as part of my university degree I had to complete a year’s work placement which I completed working for Compass Group in the Major Events department. My role meant that I was involved in working at various sporting events and venues around the UK an opportunity that I felt very lucky to have been given. Following my graduation, I was lucky enough to be offered a job at Twickenham Rugby Club and my career working at sporting venues continued from there.
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? I think there are more opportunities for Women and Girls to be involved in sport whether it be on or off the pitch. If it is a career path that you are considering, and the opportunity is there take it and run with it. Don’t let anything get in the way of your dreams.
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? I would love to see the Women and Girls game continue to grow and for there to be more pathways into the game.
Natalie Doyle
Role: Team Analyst
Background: Sport & Excise graduate Bath Uni, Performance Analyst in NE of England, Cricket Tasmania & Hobart Hurricanes Men’s & Women’s Analyst, Surrey since 2017.
Best Cricketing Memory: Growing up Harmison-Kasprowicz-Jones-Bowden moment at Edgbaston 2nd Test Ashes 2005, up to that year I had never seen England win an Ashes in my lifetime. At Surrey many! Winning Championship in 2018 at Worcester – Morne Morkel’s pull shot! Will Jack’s catch at short leg to beat Lancashire by 3 runs in 2018. Chasing 222 in 16 overs against Middlesex in a T20 – shock at the carnage that Finch and Roy had created!
What made me pursue a career in sport? Loved sport, loved cricket. I knew I wanted to be involved in sport and working in a Team environment. Lucky enough to get an opportunity in Performance Analysis as a placement and working with some great Coaches who gave me an opportunity.
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? If you want it, go for it!
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? More Female Coaches and Support Staff in the professional game. Full time Women’s Cricketers playing for Surrey and England.
Amy Gordon
Role: Community Cricket Coach for SCF
Best Cricketing Memory: Being apart of the Surrey Stars when we won KSL.
What made me pursue a career in sport? My Dad played cricket a lot with my brother and me in the garden when we were younger, so when I first joined a club, I was very keen to keep playing.
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? To try and play in as many games as possible! Any kind of fun match – hard ball/or soft.
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? As close to equal with the men’s game as possible.
Emily Pritchard
Role: Conference and Events Sales Manager for SCCC
Background: I am Emily and I am a born-and-bred Londoner. I have been described as a veritable storehouse of information on the things I know well and understand. I am highly observant, and I approach everything I do with single-minded focus and in a conceptual, tenacious and realistic manner. I see problems and difficulties as simply challenges which exist to stimulate and innovate my responses. I am currently Conference and Events Sales Manager at the Kia Oval however my overall career goal is to help engineer social and economic change. When I am not delving into work I enjoy reading a good book (or a really bad one if the mood takes me); being a tourist in in the quirky and glorious city of London; and, of course, trying as many of the culinary delights the world has to offer as possible (I like food)!
Best Cricketing Memory: When England won the Ashes in 2005, although I was at the ground on the day (and yes the atmosphere was amazing), it was actually the open bus tour that the players took through London that I remember the most vividly. My parents allowed me to take the day off of school and my mum, me, and family friends went into Trafalgar square to celebrate. The absolute jubilance was astounding. The feeling of that many people coming together to celebrate cricket has never been matched for me. I was stood in the fountain (I know not the best thing!) with an England flag wig, signing Jerusalem at the top of my lungs with thousands of others. I was getting soaked and did not care, because no one else cared. The only thing anyone cared about was cricket! That was amazing!
What made me pursue a career in sport? Oddly enough I originally saw an advert for match day staff (for catering) while I was doing my degree and jumped at the opportunity to work at a ground I had visited so often with my dad. Since then I have stayed and moved between departments and roles. Always staying, not just for the sport, but the sense of family that Surrey always has.
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? I am a perennial spectator of cricket rather than a player and I am happy with that position, and so should anyone else. If it is watching or playing that you enjoy, do that, and above all remember, you don’t need to know it inside out, or at all really. If you enjoy picking up a bat and hitting a ball do it! If you enjoy standing about in a field occasionally catching a ball, do it! Or if, like me, you like to sit in the sun and just watch other people exert energy, do it!
Sarah Lynch
Role: Competition Officer
Best Cricketing Memory: It’s so hard to choose, but my club’s 1st XI winning the Surrey Championship Premier Division against all the odds a couple of years ago was an amazing unifying community celebration which will live long in the memory.
What made me pursue a career in sport? Recreational cricket has such a positive impact on those that that participate in it and also the wider community, and I just love being involved in all aspects of it. Having said that there are opportunities to increase enjoyment of the game and I’m keen to promote and facilitate a cultural improvement around participation and creating appropriate match opportunities for all juniors, from the elite to the developing player.
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? Now is a great time for women to get involved with cricket as there is so much positivity around the women’s game and women working in the game, you’ll be pushing on an open door!
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? I’d love to see the enthusiasm and levels of participation that we are seeing amongst young girls translate into an explosion in the number of Women’s teams. The challenge is keeping the girls in the game through the teenage years and encouraging them to prioritise cricket over other sports.
Shanelle Webb
Role: Cricket Participation Officer (Diverse Communities)
Best Cricketing Memory: My best cricketing memory is playing cricket at The Oval as a child, as I grew up down the road from The Oval and went to a local school that took regular visits there. Growing up my family were really into cricket (especially my brothers) and we were very active children so I really loved sports and learning new things, though I will admit I prefer athletics to cricket!
What made me pursue a career in sport? I chose to pursue a career in a sport/cricket environment because my background is in working with children, young people and communities and I knew that I would have something to offer when looking at engaging the local community or promoting the work we do. Coming from the local area, I have a wide knowledge of local organisations and groups that we can work with in our future social good and community projects, as well as the needs of the children and young people we will engage.
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? Advice I would give for any women or girls who would want to pursue cricket or any dream of theirs is that your dreams are worth pursuing regardless of the obstacles you may face or any blockages along the way. This is a difficult journey a lot of the time but consistency and a true belief in yourself and your abilities won’t fail you. I would also suggest that these women and girls reach out to a network of trusted people if possible to get advice or support with their aims. If you don’t have that person in your life yet, I’m always here to help!
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? In five years time I would hope that Women’s and Girls cricket would be viewed in an equal manner to Men’s cricket, and more young girls would be given support and the chance to develop their skills. In an ideal world in five years we wouldn’t even have to have a Women and Girls focus at all, as it would just be considered in the same vein as Men’s, with no need for any targeting.
Grace Hill
Role: Fundraising & Events Administrator
Best Cricketing Memory: Carrying the Cricket World Cup around the outfield at the first Surrey T20 after England won the World Cup
What made me pursue a career in sport? I’ve always loved and played lots of different sport from a young age so it’s probably one of the things I’m most passionate about and so it seemed like a natural career path for me
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? Sport really is for all so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! You just have to work hard and find the right place for you and you’ll fit right in.
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? It would be great to see more young girls taking up the sport and playing at a school and club level. But for this we need more role models and a greater spotlight on the women’s game!
Jess Ward
Role: Women & Girls Cricket Participation Officer for Surrey Cricket Foundation
Background: I have played cricket my whole life and always loved sport growing up. This led to graduating from the University of Birmingham in 2017 with a degree in Sport, P.E. & Coaching Sciences. From there, I set a Women’s team at my local club and went on to qualify as a Level 2 coach in 2019. I volunteered to help grow the Women’s game in Kent and ran the Softball program for a summer in 2019 before coming to work in this role.
Best Cricketing Memory: Watching both World Cup Finals and seeing England Women & Men become victorious!
What made me pursue a career in sport? I wanted to pursue a career in sport, as it has always surrounded me. My Uncle played cricket professionally and I was always encouraged as child to try new sports. As a result of this, sport, particularly cricket, become a part of my life not only personally, but in my education and professional life. I followed my dreams and it finally paid off!
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? If you enjoy it or find it interesting, go for it! Don’t let anyone, anything or any ‘trend’ stop you from doing something you love.
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? In 5 years time I would love to see the Elite Women’s game at level standing with the men; more media coverage, equal wages etc. We can see the start of this with the Hundred and hope it continues. In terms of participation, it would be great to see the amount of Women & Girls getting involved to continue growing so that we have a nice pathway from All Stars to Elite Level and everything in between.
Lettie Hadley
Role: Team Operations Executive for South East Stars
Background: Played cricket from age 7-18 along with coaching at my club and then went on to work for Surrey Cricket Foundation in a Marketing Comms and Administration role. I moved over into the South East Stars set up in August 2019.
Best Cricketing Memory: Either being at Lords for the Men’s World Cup final in 2019 or Ben Stokes double hundred and Jonny Bairstow’s maiden hundred at Newlands, Cape Town.
What made me pursue a career in sport? My family have always been huge cricket fans so working in cricket was always something I wanted to do, getting to work with a professional team on a day to day basis is so rewarding when everything comes together. There’s never a dull day!
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? Why not! There’s never been a more exciting time for the progression of Women’s cricket, there have been huge strides in the last few years with so much more to come in the new regional domestic structure along with the Hundred. There are so many avenues for women in cricket now, it’s the best time to get involved.
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? I would like to see there be more full time regional contracted players across the country allowing more players the opportunity to be fully professional. The club network to have lots of women involved throughout the age groups and supporting the county pathway….and England women to have won the World Cup!!
Claire Bolton
Role: Cricket Participation Administrator (Schools & Kids) for Surrey Cricket Foundation
Background: I graduated from The University of Bath in 2020 with an Integrated Masters in Sport and Exercise Science, focusing on wellness, life demands and training loads of elite athletes. I also previously spent a year working for a professional rugby team as an assistant sport scientist. My main sport is netball, which I have played competitively for about 15 years. My hobbies are watching and attending live sports events, keeping fit and playing with my new puppy Finlay.
Best Cricketing Memory: Listening to Ben Stokes and Jack Leach get the win at Headingly on TMS while on a walk in the Lake District.
What made me pursue a career in sport? I wanted to pursue a career in sport, because the world of sport fascinates me. At a grass roots level, I'm interested by the effect that sport can have on individuals' mental, social and physical wellbeing. However, I'm also massively interested in the world of elite sport. I believe that the demands athletes face in training and away from training massively impact performance outcomes and can help us understand what makes teams and individuals great. Having participated in, and studied sport for so long, I can't imagine working in anything else!
Any tips / motivating words to aspiring Women / Girls that want to get involved? Don't worry about what your friends are doing or what people might say. If you want to get involved in sport then take the leap! Sport is the best way to make new friends, develop new skills, and enjoy yourself. So don't let worries about being alone or embarrassed stop you - everyone starts somewhere!
Where would you like to see the Women’s & Girls game in 5 years time? In 5 years time I hope the elite women's game is closer to being on a par with the men - with more professional players, better media coverage and bigger crowds and events! At a grassroots level, I would love women and girls cricket continue to grow, hopefully backed up by research showing the positive physical, social and mental effect cricket can have on women and girls of all ages and abilities.