SACA’S WOMEN’S PROGRAMME, RUN IN COLLABORATION WITH TAKE HER LEAD, EXPANDS FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL PLAYER RECRUITMENT DRIVE

Having announced the launch of a dedicated Women’s programme only last month, SACA can today confirm that following a successful recruitment drive for players to enrol onto the programme, it will undergo an immediate expansion as a result of the volume of high-quality players applying to join.

The SACA Women’s pilot programme, being delivered in collaboration with Take Her Lead and funded by the ECB as part of their charity and delivery partner support, initially appealed for between 6 and 10 players to join, however, following the conclusion of a recent selection process both SACA and Take Her Lead were so impressed with the calibre of applicants from across the country that an enhanced programme has already been designed.

The new look SACA Women’s programme will now include 15 young female cricketers who will benefit from a fully-funded high-performance elite programme over the coming season, including one-to-one coaching sessions delivered regionally, and a number of training camps when the entire squad will come together as a group.

Take Her Lead, the registered charity founded by former England International & broadcaster, Isa Guha, will provide an advisory panel of experts in the Women’s game to support the programme and those within it, chaired by Guha herself, delivering specialist advice on areas like strength and conditioning, nutritional and sports psychology support.

With a Women’s squad of 15 now selected for the programme, SACA has already started reaching out to first-class counties to arrange a number of competitive Women’s fixtures over the coming season and will publish the details of all fixtures arranged in due course along with the details of the successful 15 applicants who will feature in the inaugural year of the SACA Women’s programme.

Speaking of the new-look SACA Women’s programme, Tom Brown, Founder and Managing Director of SACA, commented:

“We were so pleased that we were inundated with such a high number of really talented cricketers interested in joining the Women’s programme and it became really clear to us very quickly that 6-10 places would simply not be enough to accommodate everyone we wanted to select for the squad.

“Our aim is to create the same opportunities for those in our Women’s programme as we have done so successfully in the Men’s game, and each of the 15 young women we have selected has every chance of realising their dreams of stepping up to the next level.

“Having collated a squad of 15 we have the added advantage of now being able to play competitive fixtures, mirroring the shop window that our Men’s programme enjoys, when players in the programme have an opportunity to shine against quality opposition in a competitive playing environment.

“We can’t wait to get things up and running and are really excited about the potential that our Women’s programme is already showing.”

Isa Guha, Founder and Chair of Take Her Lead, commented:

“The exceptional standard of talent demonstrated through the application process is a powerful testament to the quality and depth of skill being cultivated within South Asian communities. Our ongoing work to better understand the barriers South Asian girls face in progressing through elite pathways has reinforced the importance of targeted, culturally informed support and this initiative represents a significant opportunity to work closely with a selected cohort of 15 athletes to strengthen development pathways and further nurture emerging talent.

 “Drawing on the expertise of our THL Advisory Group, we look forward to working in collaboration with SACA to maximise the potential of this cohort. Through our commitment to delivering tailored, holistic support that enhances performance while addressing wider personal development needs, we aim to empower these young athletes to thrive within elite environments in an equitable, sustainable, and meaningful way.”