Ramsbottom women's XI making waves in men's Lancashire League cricket | Sport

TThe Ramsbottom faithful were out on a cold Saturday in late April to mark a historic event in Acre Bottom. After their women's first to join the third

It's the right choice for this group at the right time, Ramsbottom women's and girls head coach Iain Collier told WCM in January. We will still play in the women's competitions, but this is a fantastic opportunity to do both.

Their first test was a home meeting with Accrington, a charter member of the Lancashire League in 1892. After winning the toss, Maeve Jones, Ramsbottom's sparkling 18-year-old captain, decided to keep the opposition in.

The atmosphere was really good, Jones remembers. All the players' families came to watch, girls who got hurt, girls who didn't get selected. It was just a really good support system for everyone.

The visitors made a strong start to reach 108 for two but then came unstuck against Ramsbottom's spinners, with Shriya Pindoria, a long-legged 19-year-old, bagging a five-fer to slow Accrington's progress.

It was just so interesting to see that when Shriya arrived, they didn't know what to do, says Jones, who lost two wickets of her own with her free breaks. They weren't sure how to play her and I thought, Shriya, just keep going.

After setting a target of 158 in 40 overs, Jones sided with a hard-fought 37 at mid-on before a quick-fire unbeaten 47 from Grace Johnson brought Ramsbottom home with 16 deliveries remaining. To chase over-150s and see that calmness and maturity was just fantastic, says Collier.

Despite fielding a squad made up almost entirely of juniors, Collier reports that of the 23 players who represented the women's first XI in the Lancashire League this summer, 22 were aged 19 or under, while 11 were aged 15 or under . Ramsbottom went on to win four of their matches. Completed 14 matches and finished a very respectable seventh place out of 11.

During the season many players had A levels, work and other cricket commitments, and it got to the point where a lot of young players were coming in, says Jones. We had a lot of players who had never really played men's cricket before and that was a great opportunity for them. We had our setbacks, but we dealt with them on our own. It is those four wins that will stay with us when we think back to our first season in the Lancs League.

Jones says the experience of playing in a male-dominated environment has rapidly accelerated the development of her young side. When there are women playing, you can just relax. You know who you're playing against, lots of friends, but when I got into the men's league I was playing against people I'd never played against before. A few of them made a little beep, so you have to be on at all times. What can I do to shut them up here, to show that we were on the same page with them?

I think we surprised a lot of teams. Every team we played on had a different atmosphere, so the girls were constantly learning how to deal with that, and I think they did a really good job. When we played Accrington in the first game and won they really surprised me with how friendly they were. No matter the result, win or lose, the opposition was always very supportive, and we took that encouragement into every game.

Jones has taken on fast bowlers and led her side against battle-hardened club players with decades of experience. She says her team has learned a lot as their thoughts turn to a second season at this level in 2025.

I found that as an opening batsman against men's opening bowlers, some of them were fast and had pace on their side. But when it came to playing the spinners, I told myself, I have played Shriya, I have played other women spinners who I felt were better.

When it came to hitting, we learned to play differently, I think. A lot of our girls like to play straight and hang out, and when we came to bowl with the guys there were huge swings. I was like, OK, I have to rearrange my fields, I have to send a cow corner out right away. They are much more aggressive when it comes to hitting the ball and I think we can learn something from that. It was a good balance and a good challenge.

We focused on our strengths, added Collier, who were good spin bowlers, played straight and batted through the innings. It has been an important part of our development.

Jones topped 1,000 runs in all cricket this summer, one of four from the women's first XI to do so, and also claimed 46 wickets. She was one of seven Ramsbottom players to represent the Lancashire Under-18 side, which won both the national T20 and 50-over competitions this summer and also represented the Lancashire Thunder second team, while Grace Johnson, 19 , played for the senior Thunder side in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

Meanwhile, Ramsbottom continued to dominate the women's club scene, winning the senior women's competition for the third year running, while their under-18s and under-15s won their respective competitions. The eight-player Under-15s who had represented the first XI in the Lancashire League this season also reached the National T20 Knockout final at Lords, where they lost to Apperley.

Now that he has taken the plunge, Collier believes the decision to join the women's first XI in the Lancashire League has been firmly justified. We saw the proof in the pudding, he says. Our main goal was to develop the girls and provide them with new challenges, so this was definitely the right choice for this group.

While Ramsbottom is keen to emphasize that they see the future of women's cricket as all-female teams playing against each other rather than competing against men, Collier hopes his players' performances will encourage other clubs to give women more opportunities in traditionally male club cricket . , which accelerates their development. I hope this is a knock-on effect for the wider women's game, he says.