Top cricketer and Sports Captain, Kitty (L6F) reflects on her time playing for her county cricket team, Oxfordshire Girls U18.
I remember the first match I ever played for Oxfordshire. It was against Gloucestershire – one of the strongest counties for cricket and, to me, all the girls looked like professional players! I was incredibly nervous going in to bat. I scored a grand total of five runs which, in hindsight, was not too bad for one of my first ever hardball matches.
Cricket is such a difficult sport mentally, and batting often doesn’t feel like a team sport! Once you are out there, it is just you against the bowler and ten other fielders. All your teammates are chatting on the boundary! You have one chance to perform well, and all your hopes can be destroyed in one ball. So, batting requires a huge amount of mental strength and resilience. But when you have a strong performance, the feeling is incredible – my first 50 for Oxfordshire is one of my top moments playing sport of all time.
My teammates and the team spirit playing for Oxfordshire have been so important to me. Teammates help you through the times when you are down and frustrated and do everything to celebrate your success when you perform well. We all work together to keep everyone feeling proud of themselves and playing their best.
