Captain Chloe Hill is encouraged by the strength in depth of women’s cricket at Worcestershire and the major development of the pathway.
Hill skippered the Worcestershire Women’s Rapids to their second trophy in two seasons when they defeated Staffordshire to win the West Midlands Regional Cup this weekend.
The depth in quality was highlighted by the fact victory was achieved in the final despite half a dozen senior players being unavailable, mainly because of their involvement in The Hundred.
It is a far cry from when Hill first linked up with Worcestershire the best part of a decade ago.
She said: “It’s great to see how women’s cricket has grown over the years. When I first joined nine-ten years ago, there weren’t many youngsters coming through the pathway.
“It was very much a women’s senior side, but now the strength and depth of the pathway age groups is pretty exciting to see.
“It’s really good for the future and you know that Worcestershire is going to be in good hands.
“Some of the girls in the squad are still able to play in the Under-18 side and they come into first team matches with a lot of game time behind them and are pretty experienced by now.”
Long-serving all-rounder, Clare Boycott, who skippered the side when Hill was absent through injury, is also optimistic about the future and the growth of the women’s game.
Boycott, who has made more than 200 appearances for Worcestershire, said: “There really is a conveyor of young talent coming through.
“The youngsters are so good these days. They get so much training, much more compared to when I was a youngster.
“Everyone is stepping up now and we can still put a good side out when people are away.”
