Hampshire County Cricket Club has welcomed the opportunity to host an event aimed at bringing people from across the women’s game together and strengthening connections within the sport.
The Utilita Bowl was the venue for the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund networking event on 19 September at the same as the Metro Bank Women’s One Day Cup final took place between Hampshire and The Blaze, in which the latter dramatically won.
Around 100 attendees from cricket clubs across the Hampshire region were involved with the all-day event, one which gave those involved in grassroots cricket the chance to share ideas, make connections and discuss how the sport can continue to grow across the county.
And for John Cook, Hampshire’s cricket development manager, he was delighted that the club were able to play a key role in the delivery of the day.
He said: “Hampshire themselves have a great facility here at the Utilita Bowl, giving us lots of time and space to develop days like this, bring more and more people into the stadium and understand more about how seriously we take women's and girls' cricket.
“Seeing the passion, enthusiasm, the range of ages, abilities, starting points, we’ve got such a diverse audience. It's an opportunity too good to miss through networking events such as these.
“The biggest message for me is that the knowledge in the room is incredibly powerful. We want those people’s voices to tell a story about how we work alongside them and make women's and girls' cricket the best thing you can do within the clubs.”
Not only did the day provide a big networking opportunity, but it also saw the launch of the Evolve pillar, a Take Her Lead workshop, an interactive Creating Belonging workshop and a Q&A from England spinner Sarah Glenn.
Take Her Lead are a charity founded by Isa Guha that has teamed up with Metro Bank and the ECB to help with the delivery with the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund, while the Creating Belonging Course is a free micro-opportunity designed for coaches to create welcoming environments and the Evolve pillar focuses on helping future coaches.
Through their partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund, which was launched in 2024, exists to grow and support the number of coaches of girls’ cricket, creating more inclusive, welcoming environments and role models to nurture a generation of confident girls and women.
The Fund supports volunteers and coaches at every stage of their journey in girls’ cricket, with the Hampshire event specifically showcasing how the Fund has the reach to connect clubs, listen to local experiences, and give volunteers and coaches useful
tools they can apply in their own environments.
In 2026 alone, the Fund delivered 2,000 hours of coach development support within club environments.
“Metro Bank’s support and the Girls in Cricket Fund has been incredibly helpful,” added Cook. “The amount it gives different people different opportunities to play a part is crucial.”
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