Two of Parramatta Women’s Cricket Club’s young superstars are ready to bring their A-game to Perth, as they compete in the 2022 U19 National Female Cricket Championships.
19-year-old NSW Breakers players Claire Moore and Jade Allen, who play in the same first grade Premier Cricket squad for Parramatta, have landed in Perth and are ready to chase national glory this week.
Moore will captain the NSW Metropolitan side, also featuring Alex Mavros, Kate Pelle and Zoya Thakur from the Parramatta Women’s Cricket Club, for her final year in the U19 National Championships. But she’s not letting the pressure get to her.
“There’s a little bit more pressure as captain but I’ve done it in the past… and I love it, I love that pressure, it makes you want to do a lot better for your team,” she said.
“It’s also really exciting as it’s my last year in under 19’s, so I’ll have fun running out with the girls.”
Ms Moore said her squad is well prepared and ready to win the tournament.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into training, two days a week, I know the girls have been training really hard and working on their fitness,” she said.
Allen is also set to captain her squad, but for the NSW Country side.
“I’m really excited, we’ve got a younger bunch of girls this year, quite different from the last couple of years I’ve played with that team,” she said.
“I’m just pretty keen to get out there.”
The tournament will also double as an opportunity to impress selectors before next year’s first ever inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.
For the Parramatta cricket stars, it would be a dream come true to be selected for the T20 World Cup.
“It would mean the world to me to be able to travel over to South Africa, the Championships are a really good opportunity for the girls to show their skills,” Allen said.
Moore agreed, labelling it “an honour”.
“I feel like that’s one of the big goals at the moment, not only for me but for all the girls in the under 19’s as it’s the first year for the 19s World Cup, which is really exciting for women in cricket,” she said.
The U19 National Female Cricket Championships will run from December 5-12, with the World Cup team to also be named.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.