Helping women's cricket break boundaries in Dorset

We paid a visit to Puddletown Cricket Club near Dorchester for their T20 Dorset Cricket League fixture against Parley CC – to hear about the women’s cricket journey within Dorset and to find out how our sponsorship is making a difference.

Beccy Morgan-Doak started playing cricket when she was at university. “I’ve been playing for about 17 years now,” she recalls. “Up in London to begin with, and then I moved down to Dorset with my partner a few years back and found Puddletown. We fell in love with the club here, it’s so supportive and inclusive. Now both of us play for the ladies’ section, we have our friendship base here and just love the club.”

As well as being club secretary and captain of the women’s hardball team at Puddletown, Beccy is also part of the Dorset Cricket League’s women’s sub-committee. Back when she first moved to the area with her partner and fellow player Ro (pictured above), women’s cricket in Dorset was in nowhere near the position it’s in today.

“Dorset has been on a real journey with women’s cricket,” Beccy explains. “When I first moved down here seven years ago, I emailed about women’s cricket – and I got a really vague response. There wasn’t a huge amount going on, just a few festivals here and there and some friendly matches.”

Since then, the sport has grown to the point where there are now five women’s leagues in Dorset – incorporating both softball and hardball versions of the game. Beccy continues: “We have ‘proper’ T20 cricket for our women and the future is only looking brighter. We’ve got people who are really dedicated to improving and driving women’s cricket in the county. More and more clubs are starting every year, which is really brilliant to see.”

Andy Kent (also pictured above) is the secretary of the Dorset Cricket League. He too has witnessed the growth in participation as women’s cricket has become more prominent not just in Dorset, but across the UK. “Women’s cricket is growing here in Dorset, the same as it is in other parts of the country,” he says. “I’d say we’re on an upward curve. There has been a slow growth over a number of years, but now the growth itself is accelerating – which is fantastic to see.”

Cricket comes with its costs, and that’s where the Dorset Cricket League – like all grassroots sports organisations – relies on sponsorships to lend a helping hand. When it came to reviewing our own sports sponsorships at Wessex Internet this year, we saw a great chance to support an area of the game that's making a real difference in our communities.

“As you can imagine, cricket is not the cheapest of games to get involved with,” Andy admits. “That’s where it’s hugely important to get sponsorship, like from Wessex Internet and other local companies. It’s a huge help.

“The sponsorship money from Wessex Internet this year will go towards helping to supply the match balls for all of the competitions. We also have official appointed umpires, who are well used to doing higher-level games, so it will help to cover their costs as well.

“As a league, we’re delighted that Wessex Internet have continued their sponsorship. We’ve just had three years’ sponsorship of our Saturday leagues, so we’re really glad that they’ve extended that this year into the women’s competitions.”

Beccy agrees. “It’s really important,” she says. “At the first club I played for, the women weren’t allowed to enter the clubhouse. We were the secondary team. At our club here, we now have an all-female committee and the women’s team are fully integrated with the men’s team. We play alongside them on Saturdays and during the evening league – and I know that’s also the case around the county for other women’s sections as well.

“Having local businesses also support us, as well as the community around us, is really important.”

The Dorset Women's Cricket League is creating more opportunities for women and girls to get involved in cricket, breaking down barriers and inspiring the next generation of players. We are proud to play a small part in helping build that legacy across Dorset.