Western Warriors Cricket Club promoting the future of the women’s game
Warriors' ladies in their first year of existence and made up entirely of high school girls
Some bolt out the gates but others make progress silently.
Based at Reddford House, just off 14th Avenue, Western Warriors Cricket Club is focusing on the betterment of the women’s game. The club may have several men’s teams from juniors to seniors but it is the young ladies laying the foundations that matter. Western Warriors Ladies may have finished the Diadora Jozi Cup winless, but the thrill of competing was victory in itself.
Made up entirely of girls from Hoërskool Monument in Krugersdorp, the girl’s team spirit was evident. All just high school girls, some as young as 14, they have been testing themselves against the best women’s players in Johannesburg. In their final T20 double-header on June 12, Western Warriors played each of the finalists of the 2022 Black Widow Ladies T20 competition – Delfos Ladies and Soweto Pioneers Ladies.
Beginning in the Sunday morning sunshine, Warriors batted first and were disciplined in not throwing away their wickets. Encouraged from the stands to see out their 20 overs, the girls dug in to finish the innings with a 73/9. Despite Rianca Els castling two Delfos wickets, the hosts were casual yet efficient, as they cruised to 75/2 in 8.2 overs.
In their second encounter, Soweto Pioneers were first to the crease and showed no mercy to the young upstarts. Soweto’s finest smashed 250/3 in their 20 overs, with Karabo Meso scoring at a strike rate of 128.36 for her 83 runs. With the intimidating score to chase down, Warriors were again resolute as they made their opponents wait until the 17th over for the final wicket, ending on 56 all out. Standout performer was Dane Bakker who scored 18 against Delfos and 13 against Soweto Pioneers for a total of 31 runs on the day.
