Alyssa’s stellar summer of cricket

Narrabri’s Alyssa Ford has had a stellar summer of cricket, with the talented batter and keeper captaining the Central Northern team at the Under-19 Country NSW Championships recently before being selected to play for the ACT NSW Kangaroos at the Cricket NSW under-19 State Challenge held in Dubbo.

Teams from eight regions from across the state came together to compete in the under-19 Country NSW Championships, with the Alyssa Ford led team finishing a notable third.

Alyssa impressed with the bat, top scoring with 25 runs in the game against ACT southern district, though it was not enough to secure a win, with ACT southern district the only team to beat Central Northern.

“ACT southern district ended up winning the carnival, so it is a good feeling to know you have batted well against a quality side with a great bowling attack,” Alyssa said.

“I was not expecting to get named captain, as it is my first season back after ACL surgery on my right knee. I have had a mentally and challenging time over the past couple years recovering from that, so it is just good to be back playing cricket.

“They are a great group of girls who I have been playing cricket with for a while, so it was a privilege to be their captain. The state challenge was also a really encouraging environment. Many of the girls competing are already in state squads competing, but they were all really supportive and everyone did really well.”

Cricket NSW cricket manager for the mid-north coast, Kate Jackson, said it was Alyssa’s leadership skills which helped guide the girls through to the third and fourth play offs.

“It is also an awesome achievement for Alyssa to have been selected for the state challenge,” Ms Jackson said.

“The state challenge saw two country and two metro sides play, so the best 24 girls in under-19 cricket.

“To be in the eyes of the selectors like that is something to be recognised.

“There has been a massive investment in women’s cricket and girls from all walks of life are embracing the sport. We are getting girls starting younger and we are hopeful we can continue building the girls and support them on their cricket journeys.”

Alyssa is now hoping to be one of 13 girls selected from the state challenge to compete in Adelaide in April in the under 19s ACT NSW country side.