Cricket Illawarra’s investment into junior girls cricket has continued to pay dividends, with a number of fixtures taking place throughout the summer.
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Off the back of the Margaret Peden Shield played prior to Christmas, Keisha Baldwin, was selected to represent Country Thunder at the Under 13 Female State Challenge in January.
After a string of impressive performances, the side ultimately fell to Metro Sixers in the final to claim second place, with Baldwin enjoying a successful tournament.
The 11-year-old said it was a great experience to play at the representative level.
“I thought I did pretty well,” Baldwin said. “It was a fun few days in Wellington. It was a bit disappointing to lose the final, we were doing well at the start but lost it in the batting.”
A Corrimal youngster, Baldwin made the decision to follow her older brothers into the sport after spending hours on weekends watching them play.
It’s a decision she’s extremely glad she made.
“My brothers played and I spent a lot of time watching them and I thought it would be a fun game to play. I started playing and I had fun, it was interesting, bowling was really good.
“A few friends at school have started playing cricket now and they think it’s really fun as well.”
Following the success of the State Challenge, Baldwin jumped straight back into her cricket upon returning to Wollongong.
She resumed playing in her under 12 boys Corrimal team in the Cricket Illawarra Saturday competition and continued her involvement in the Thunder Cup, a new girls cricket league launched in December that involves teams from the Illawarra, South Coast, Shoalhaven and ACT.
And on Tuesday night she took part in the first round of the newly launched Greater Illawarra Girls Cricket League.
With so much cricket to be played, Baldwin knows exactly what aspects of her game she wants to work on.
“My goals for my batting are not to move my head so much and for my bowling probably to aim a bit fuller.”