A sweeping victory for Salford's new Women's Cricket Team against Chester

Among the many teams to embark on the journey to Chester University for Varsity 2nds last week was the University of Salford’s newly founded women’s cricket team. Team morale was high in the run-up to the six-a-side match. Due to only six players as opposed to the usual eleven, the match was set to have ten overs per innings, however Salford only needed a fraction of those overs to secure their victory over Chester, comfortably winning by six wickets. 

Salford fielded first, and spectators were audibly delighted to see opening bowler Freya take the first wicket with her opening bowl. Anticipation was high after this but Freya certainly delivered, going on to take two more wickets and even managing to achieve a maiden, demonstrating much promise for Salford women’s on their very first outing.

Due to the length of the game, the women opted for ‘last batter standing’, ensuring that every batter got their chance. Chester women’s team were still in high spirits as they put up a fight, hitting for 3s and 4s, however they were no match for the tenacity of Salford’s bowlers. In just four overs, Chester ended up all out, meaning their final score was 24-6. Erin and Iqra were spectacular not only with their bowling but with keeping up team morale. Queenie, along with newcomers Maisie and Gale, did a great job with fielding, and all of the women worked well together with much enthusiasm. For the second innings, Erin and Iqra carried the momentum into their batting, securing the win in less than two overs.

Due to the unprecedented speed of the first match, both teams agreed to a second match, this time with just five overs each. This time, Salford batted first and quickly attained 55-2 from the five overs. The highlight of the batting was courtesy of Salford captain Iqra constantly hitting for 6 before retiring to ensure that more of her teammates got the chance to bat in such a short innings. In this second match, Chester did well to hold their nerve and stay in for their full innings, however Salford still secured a comfortable win against Chester’s 16-3.

The atmosphere for both matches was electric. Salford’s new women’s team proved to be unstoppable, thanks to the encouragement both from the crowd and from their teammates. Maisie and Gale, both new to the game, were commendable for how they threw themselves into the game, particularly considering this was off the back of them playing for Salford’s water polo match earlier in the afternoon. As of now, Salford women’s cricket team are undefeated yet compassionate; one of the standouts from the afternoon has to be after the matches, where Salford were chatting with Chester’s team and bonding over their communal joy at having the chance to play the sport that they all love so dearly.