Mersey Rose Recs CC took part in the Old Xaverians women's cricket festival
With the league season delayed due to wet weather and our own friendly fixtures likely to change as matches are rescheduled, it was good to actually play some cricket on Sunday.
Mersey Rose Recreationals were invited to take part in the Old Xaverians Women's Softball Festival (and Family Fun Day). It was a windy day but fortunately after around 1.30 or so it was at least a dry one. Cricket was played under a roof and on a hard surface.
The festival was aimed at encouraging more women to play cricket. There were a number of women involved who had never played cricket previously and it was good to see how much they enjoyed the game - one of them even hit a six from the first ball they faced.
In addition to the cricket there were various family activities including a bouncy castle, tennis ball darts, and face painting. The event had been very well organised and it's a pity that we weren't able to play on grass, but it was good to have played any cricket at all. Two matches were played - one was very close (just two runs in it after a recount!), the other not quite so close.
Mersey Rose's Anna Page said: "It feels good to finally be playing cricket after winter training. The festival was a fantastic event and it was brilliant to see a mixture of experienced and new players taking part.
"[Old Xaverians] are committed to increasing women's participation in cricket and that's something we want to support. Thanks to everyone to made the festival happen. It was a great day, with some good cricket, brilliant people and, in the end, some good weather." Anna was one of five players to win an award on the day.
Mersey Rose Recreationals hope to host their own softball festival later in the season for Disability Awareness Day.
Below is a small gallery of photos from the day. All images were taken by Xanthe Page.
