Growing the Game: 40 years of Gordon Women's Cricket Club
Article written by: Liam Ferreira on the 19th of July 2022
(Republished with permission from Cricket NSW)
The Gordon Women’s Cricket Club (GWCC) recently celebrated its 40th year of play in Sydney’s top cricket competition, offering a wonderful chance to reflect on the ongoing development of the women’s game and look towards the club’s potential for future success.
After achieving ten 1st Grade premierships, three Brewer Shield U18 titles and nine Club Championships, it should come as no surprise that so many who have worn the red and navy have gone on to enjoy illustrious representative cricketing careers for both state and country.
Karen Hill (nee Price), Denise Anderson (nee Annetts) and Bronwyn Calver are a select few of GWCC’s big names that represented club, state, and country throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Hill (L) & Anderson
Hill, a life member of the club, emphasised that achieving success on domestic and international levels was greatly influenced by the support and encouragement she received during her junior cricket career.
“[GWCC is] a friendly, happy and well-run club which saw the development of its players and the game as a priority,” she said.
Hill was awarded Australian test cap number 79 and is one of just two Australian women to have achieved a test century and taken 10 wickets in the same match. In addition, Hill was a member of the Australian team that competed in the first-ever women’s match held at Lords Cricket Ground.
Following the club’s success in the latter half of the 20th century, another generation of noteworthy representatives emerged onto the domestic and national scene.
Now classified as heroes of the modern female game, the likes of Lisa Sthalekar, Alex and Kate Blackwell, and Charlotte Anneveld were at a time all young GWCC talents on the rise.
Alex, Lisa and Kate celebrate winning the World Cup – Picture courtesy of Cricket NSW
A household name for providing outstanding cricket analysis during internationally televised broadcasts, Lisa was once the focus of analysis on the field having won two world cups in 2005 and 2013 and two T20 world cups in 2010 and 2012, as well as 10 consecutive WNCL titles with the NSW Breakers.
Sthalekar praises any organisation that works to cultivate young talent and has expressed her own gratitude for the support received from the GWCC system.
“As an 11-year-old coming to the club, they made feel at home straight away. The organisers had a real passion to nurture the young talent and as the years have gone on, the club has evolved. I am very pleased to see that we now have plenty of youth talent in our teams and a great mix of cultures showing the best cricket on the North Shore,” she said.
Lisa Sthalekar – Picture courtesy of Cricket NSW
Both Kate and Alex Blackwell have represented Australia and NSW at the highest level, as well as having played for many top tier sides across the globe.
Having gone through the GWCC junior system, they also value the club’s ambition to nurture young female talent.
“Gordon opened its doors to two country cricketers in Kate and I and we never looked back. This club was the launchpad for the two of us to go on and represent Australia,” said Alex.
“Gordon was my introduction to women’s open age cricket. My teammates and opponents were some of the best players in the world. It was a tough environment that taught me what I would need to know to play at the top level,” said Kate.
Alex Blackwell & Kate Blackwell – Picture courtesy of Cricket NSW
Anneveld, who most famously snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a 4-wicket haul in the 2006 WNCL finals series against Queensland, puts GWCC’s continuing success down to having a good crop of young talent being able to mix with more experienced players.
“Having played for Gordon for 22 years it has become family. We have been fortunate over the years to have so much youth and experience and consistently have teams in every grade do relatively well”, said Anneveld.
Charlotte Anneveld – Picture courtesy of Cricket NSW
After 40 years of competing in the NSW’s Premier Cricket competition, it’s safe to say the Gordon Women’s Cricket Club has done an exceptional job of generating a rich list of representative talent.
Looking forward, it’s conceivable to say that GWCC hold the keys to the next crop of NSW Breakers and WBBL prodigies. Only time will tell, but for now let’s appreciate the club’s shining stars making their way through top tier premier cricket and state pathway squads.
Player: Kinjal Kumari
Highest Representative Level: NSW Metropolitan U19 State Team
Favourite Player/s: Alyssa Healy because she’s such an explosive and aggressive player who plays all forms of the game in that way, which makes her so unique. Also, MS Dhoni because he can do literally everything, his stumping speed is incredible, and he always gets the job done with the bat.
Career Goals: Play alongside my idols and best mates
Player: Sara Chun
Highest Representative Level: NSW Metropolitan U19 State Team
Favourite Player: Marnus Labuschagne because his unconventional and quirky batting habits make him entertaining to watch, and his positive mindset makes him a good role model.
Favourite Cricketing Moment: Scoring my first century during a grand final.
Player: Samira Mitchell
Highest Representative Level: NSW All Schools 1st XI. NSW Country/ACT U/19’s State Team
Dream Batting Partner: Marcus Stoinis, so I could watch and admire his skill and power,
then give him a little hug if he made 50.
Player: Diya Sambrane
Highest Representative Level: U13 Mollie Dive
Favourite Player: Ellyse Perry
Bowler You Would Love to Face: Jasprit Bumrah, so I could smack his bouncers over the rope, and his yorkers to the boundary.
Player: Olivia Callaghan
Highest Representative Level: U16 Metro State Team
Favourite Player: Usman Khawaja or Ellyse Perry because I love watching them both play – such simple and graceful batting techniques plus score lots of runs easily.
Hobbies Outside Cricket: Playing football
Original story published by Cricket NSW : Growing the Game: 40 years of Gordon Women’s Cricket Club | Cricket NSW
