The 1 is a nationwide competition for cricket’s next number one female all-rounder – open to girls aged 12-18 and run by Greenway’s coaching platform the Girls Cricket Club.
Styled on the admired NFL Combine in which athletes are put through a series of tests leading up to the NFL Draft, The 1 challenges contestants on the three disciplines of cricket – bowling, batting and fielding. The cricketer who scores highest across all three disciplines is crowned the winner, taking home a trophy and prizes including a custom hand-made bat, kit sponsorship, 1:1 coaching with top internationals, a training day with a professional women’s cricket team and media training with a leading sports PR agency.
The inaugural tournament in 2021 was a huge success and this year has seen a record number of entrants, with thousands of people across the country applying for a chance to be crowned The One.
Last year’s winner, Maddy Reynolds, had this to say: “Winning the 1 was incredible, and the event was fast-paced, intense but also incredibly friendly and enjoyable. The prizes I received from The 1 were also wonderful, as I gained sponsorship from kookaburra and PAYNTR, who’ve been amazing this season with kitting me out in all the gear. It’s helped me with my cricket to no-end and a memory and milestone in my life I will cherish forever.”
The scenario-based challenges created by Greenway test contestants’ athleticism, skill and ability to handle the sort of high-stakes pressure players experience in a big match.
She says the competition is designed to not just uncover talent and provide a platform for young girls within cricket, but to create further opportunities to showcase female athletes, with the focus on individual star-ability within what is otherwise a team sport.
Greenway said: “The Girls Cricket Club is a platform for progression, not perfection. That embodies what The 1 is all about. We are creating opportunities for talented, up-and-coming female cricketers to test themselves against their peers, show their skills on a national stage and set their own benchmark within the sport. The best way to improve is by challenging yourself and The 1 provides an extra level of contest beyond club format.
“Rather than trying to be the best you can be in a team, The 1 gives these girls a chance to show what they’re capable of as an individual. This is an opportunity for girls to shine and demonstrate that female cricket is exciting, skilful and full of promise.”
The second edition of The 1 will take place at Welbeck Cricket Cub, Sookholme, Mansfield
on Sunday 4th September. Cricket District will also be covering the event on social media. Timings TBC.
Register your interest for The 1 here:
https://girlscricketclub.com/the-one/#et_pb_signup_email
The tournament is run through Greenway’s Girls Cricket Club, an online coaching platform aimed at accelerating the growth of female cricket around the world through the sharing of knowledge, resources and opportunities. The Girls Cricket Club complements Greenway’s successful Cricket for Girls, which will continue to focus on building successful girls cricket programmes in schools and clubs by developing the teachers and coaches, whilst the Girls Cricket Club will focus on the players.
The Girls Cricket Club aims to connect female cricketers around the world, to serve as an independent voice for girls and women within cricket and to provide female-specific resources to girls and women of all ages and backgrounds.
With 225 appearances for England, including a World T20 and World Cup victory in 2009 and five Ashes series’, Greenway is one of the best female cricketers to have played the game and was among the first to pioneer professional cricket for women earning a coveted central contract with the ECB in 2014. Greenway says she is driven to reach girls both with a passion for cricket, as well as those who may not otherwise be exposed to cricket and to provide them with equal opportunities to play the game.
