Tawanda Karasa, Founder and Secretary of Grassroots Cricket whose mission is to partner with organisations and individuals to build a world where all children are equal and have access to fulfill their potential. 

Tawanda is passionate corporate social responsibility and youth development and social justice and has introduced a number of successful programs in his home country of Zimbabwe combining sporting skills and life skills to disadvantaged children. 

While this episode is not specifically about women’s cricket it is a “must listen”to hear how cricket is helping thousands of young people in need. 

Lauren is a freelance journalist in South Africa possessing a powerful storytelling ability, along with the intentionally honed skill of creating ease and calm while interviewing individuals and whose words and comments are vital to a carefully curated and researched story. 

Lauren is a specialist in the area of women’s news, analysis, sport, profiling and interviewing. She is passionate about women’s empowerment in the sporting world and hosts her own sports journalism show called “ She Speaks Sport”. 

This is a fascinating discussion     

David is the Librarian at the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) Library at the MCG but had a close connection with former Victorian and Australian “great” in Betty Wilson regarded in her time as the “female Bradman”.

Among her many accolades Betty Wilson is a member of the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame, the Australian and ICC Cricket Halls of Fame and an Honorary Member of the Melbourne Cricket Club.

In a fascinating discussion David talks about his family connection to Betty Wilson and takes us inside the life of  Betty Wilson.

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

Alan is the Head of Cricket Operations at the Japan Cricket Association a position he has held since 2015. Alan has been instrumental in managing the growth of the sport at the grass roots level and now oversees all cricket throughout the country and the operations and logistics that go with having three National Squads.

In 2012 Alan also wrote a book titled "Cricket on Everest" after helping to arrange a game of cricket on the slopes of Mount Everest!.

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

A fascinating discussion with Benafsha Hashimi who is a young Afghani woman who fled her home country of Afghanistan along with other members of the Afghani women's cricket team in 2021 when the Taliban took control of the country.

Benafsha has now settled in Canberra with other members of her family who also fled Afghanistan with her and is now pursuing her new life with much enthusiasm which also includes playing cricket.

Benafsha was also a highly valued member of our CWOB team that toured Fiji in September 2022.
 
Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

Sophie McIIwain is an accredited player agent and is believed to be the first female accredited player agent in Australian cricket.

Sophie works ethically to support her clients in achieving their personal goals and strongly feels that an agent's job is to assist in every way possible. Sophie works with players, coaches and media personalities around the world.

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

Mel is a former Victorian and Australian player who helped Clare Cannon establish Cricket Without Borders in 2010 and is now  a prominent  cricket commentator.  

Catherine is an international expert in the field of integrity in sport and is a strong advocate of women’s sport. She is also a sought-after media commentator and conference presenter and has served on numerous ethics and anti-doping committees in Australia and internationally.

Catherine played an instrumental role in securing humanitarian visas for members of the Afghanistan women’s cricket team and their families to settle in Australia in 2021 after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

A fanatical lover of cricket as both a player and journalist Jenny is embarking on a tour this year to more than 50 countries where she will join local teams, playing, coaching and mentoring female cricketers and then write a book about her experience. Along the way she is fundraising for the LBW Trust who believe that everybody deserves an education and an opportunity to realise their potential and create their own future. 

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

Sarah Elliot is a former Victorian and Australian player who also played WBBL cricket with the Adelaide Strikers. Sarah has played an integral role in the development of Cricket Without Borders and has provided outstanding support for all of the players who have undertaken tours with CWOB including some who have gone on to higher honours be it in Premier, State or National cricket.

Sarah is a true inspiration to all young women playing cricket. 

The inaugural coach of CWOB who instantly appealed to Clare as a coach for young women. Stephen is a hugely respected person within Victorian cricket and particularly in western Victoria where he has been a huge influence on the development of young cricketers both male and female and in recent years has played a key role with the Geelong Cricket Club and it’s women’s team introduction into Premier Cricket. 

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

A discussion with Clare, the Founder and Chair of CWOB around her motivation for the establishment of Cricket Without Borders and her vision for the organisation and players invited to become involved with CWOB.

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

Nicole is a young woman who has come through the traditional cricket pathway since starting the game in a boys cricket team in Moe in Gippsland Victoria.  

Nicole toured with CWOB to Fiji in 2015 and it was easy to see even then she was a naturally talented player and leader. 

She has represented Victoria and the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL as a wicketkeeper and top order batter and is one of the young shining stars in Australian cricket and it is wonderful to hear about her journey in the game thus far.   

An inspiring discussion with Cheryll about Fairbreak Global and its mission to progress equality on a truly global scale, using cricket as a vehicle to do so. 

Cheryll has been CEO of Fairbreak for just over 18 months and has as her aim to nurture people as individuals or collectively to move forward on their chosen path and to empower people by giving them the tools/capacity to take the next step with newfound confidence. 

Fairbreak Global is certainly doing just that through their invitational tours which now have ICC approval and involve players and umpires from ICC Associate countries as well as full members countries. 

Fairbreak is committed to pushing the envelope, breaking down barriers and driving positive change, one match at a time, inspiring action towards a more equitable future for all. 

You can certainly hear Cheryll’s passion to this commitment in this podcast as she also outlines her vision for the future which will hopefully include matches here in Australia. 

This is a wonderful chat with a woman who is changing the landscape for girls and women’s clothing in the sport of cricket. An American by birth who has lived in London for the past twenty years Leigh actually saw her first game of cricket in Australia but years later when her daughter started playing the game in London, Leigh could see that the players uniforms were totally tailored for boys. 

She set about changing the landscape for young girls and women for both their onfield clothing and off field team wear and is succeeding ! 

This is a wonderful discussion not only about her desire to provide bespoke on and off field uniforms but also how Leigh has developed a portal for female players to access all the information required about girls/women’s cricket and has also engaged the assistance  of former England player Lydia Greenway to assist her.    

Marcella has done it all from a young woman playing the game at club level, representing her State, an administrator for the Victorian Women’s Cricket Association, working for Cricket Victoria and now the Co-ordinator of Women’s Cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Club as well as being the team Manager for Cricket Without Borders on a number of tours. 

This is a most enjoyable discussion with someone who has given everything to the sport and continues to do so with a great passion for the game of cricket.      

Tanya Gallina is the General Manager, Commercial Operations and Partnerships and has enjoyed  a wonderful career in professional sport at the Hawthorn and Carlton AFL Clubs, Melbourne Victory and is now a member of the senior management team at the MCC. 

We discuss the evolution of the MCG from a pure sporting venue to an entertainment venue, the amazing ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup Final along with the documentary that was produced about the Final. 

There are many critical partnerships associated with the management of the MCG  including government, commercial partnerships and the various users of the venue including cricket and football franchises along with concert promoters and all fall within the scope of Tanya’s role at the MCG.     

Olivia is the CEO of Cricket ACT ( Canberra) and has had an extensive career in high performance sport at the Australian Institute of Sport and then at Cricket Australia. We discuss Olivia’s love of cricket from a you ng age which has stayed with her and her desire to continue to grow the game in the ACT and provide a welcoming environment for all who wish to be involved in the sport in whatever capacity they choose and irrespective of their background .We also discuss some of the unique partnerships Qlivia has developed for women’s cricket and cricket in general through her role as CEO.

Jenny also featured in Episode 4 of our Podcast – this Episode is a special one for CWOB as Jenny travels to Fiji with the support of CWOB – we have a special relationship with Fiji having undertaken two tours there and had an opportunity to meet and play against their women’s teams and have developed a strong relationship with Cricket Fiji. On this tour Jenny meets many of their players and undertakes a number of school visits.  

Cath has had a lifelong involvement in the game of cricket and has a strong connection with the Pioneers Victorian Women’s Cricket Association which we talk about as well as the 150 th Anniversary of the first game of women’s cricket in Australia which is to be held on the 29th March in Bendigo which is where the first game was played in 1874.

Cath provides some good background around the first match and the “Pioneers”!     

Links:
Cricket Without Borders website

Natalie is someone who has done it all in the game of cricket and is still making a significant contribution to the sport.

As a young player Natalie represented Victoria at the U17 /U19 levels and was also an Australian U17 representative but it is arguably since her junior playing days that she has made an even more profound contribution to the sport.

Natalie played a key role in the establishment of the Bacchus Marsh CC  Women’s and Junior Girls program and as a current Director she provides advice and technical knowledge around the delivery of the women’s cricket competitions,

Natalie is still playing for Essendon Maribyrnong Park Ladies CC  where she is captain /coach of the Third Eleven and earlier this year she also accepted a role in Singapore as High Performance Coach of the Singapore Sunbirds (women’s team) in preparation for a forthcoming Tri-Series Competition.

In between all of her coaching, playing and administration, Natalie established her own business, Fierce Girls Cricket supplying female designed clothing and equipment and offers sponsorships and ambassador programs including advocacy for Female Cricket!

Natalie has simply done it all!!  

Tamara established Cricket Kindness in 2016 dedicated to addressing the desperate shortage of cricket equipment in developing countries around the world and in disadvantaged communities in England and Australia . 

Cricket Kindness was inspired by Tamara’s heartfelt determination to make the world a happier place for cricket loving communities unable to access proper equipment and uniforms. 

Over the past ten years, the Cricket Kindness Project has given thousands of children, teenagers and adults throughout Antigua &Barbuda, Barbados, Trinidad, Nevis, Guyana, Sri Lanka, Fiji, The Solomon Islands, Nepal, Sierra Leone, England and Australia the simple joy of access to equipment to play the great game of cricket. 

Tamara has also worked at Cricket NSW and assisted in the management of their Cricket Foundation and is currently a Non Executive Director at Kit Bag For Kids. 

The CC Morris Library is the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere and was established in the 1960’s. It has a fascinating history and included among its collection is a three-handled trophy presented to the winning team in the USA’s first interscholastic girls' cricket match held in 1895.

Throughout the 19th Century and for almost 100 years until the 1920’s, cricket, with its particular emphasis upon ethics and sportsmanship, was a distinctive element in the social life of the Philadelphia area and at the time was probably the only city where for a brief period, cricket could draw as large attendance and command as full journalistic reporting as baseball.

Paul has a wealth of knowledge about the history of cricket in the Philadelphia area and some of the great players in the USA from years gone by and offers some interesting thoughts on cricket in the USA today as well as his former college, Haverford College where cricket is still played by both male and female students.

He also provides information about an annual cricket festival in Philadelphia and the wonderful museum that forms part of the CC Morris Library.

Links:
CC Morris Library website

Georgie is a dynamic young journalist and commentator from England who is currently in Australia covering the summer of cricket as well as other sports .

Georgie has covered World Cups, Olympic Games and as well as working on cricket this summer will also be doing some commentary on Volleyball.

She is also a Young  Ambassador for the MCC Foundation (UK) and co-hosts a podcast called Women’s Cricket Chat.

Georgie has been very open about some of the challenges she has faced with mental health challenges over the years and during the podcast provides some sound advice to those who may be facing similar challenges.

This is a really vibrant epsiode and a “must listen” for those who follow CWOB !  

Megan is the granddaughter of the great Victorian and Australian batsman Bill Ponsford after whom a grandstand is named at the MCG.

She is a Ponsford and proud of it!

Megan is also the author of two books, one a photographic record of the Melbourne Cricket Ground including some wonderful behind the scenes areas that are not generally seen by the public and the other titled “The HAS-BEENs and NEVER-WILL-BE's, A boys own adventure of Australian cricket and the Raj“ is a fascinating insight into Australia’s first cricket tour to India in 1935/36 albeit an official tour.

We chat, of course, about Megan’s grandfather and her publications and current projects.

Sheila is the co-founder and first CEO of Sport Environment Alliance but that is just part of her outstanding contribution around growing the awareness and introducing strategies and plans around sustainability in sport to ensure a healthier planet and happy people!

This includes presenting at a number of international Sustainability Leaders conferences  and last year Sheila was Head of Sustainability for the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand.

Sheila has recently established her own business “ Happy Planet People “    

Happy Planet People

We also have a fascinating discussion about early childhood growing up as a child of hardworking refugee parents and some of the valuable lessons about life passed on to her by her parents. 

Cricket Without Borders and Chelsea have a very strong connection dating back to 2012 when Chelsea joined us on a tour to Singapore and she has remained as somewhat of a constant with us as a player and coach ever since.

This is a wonderful discussion as we hear about her cricket journey from her start on a dairy farm in Leongatha to playing in an all boys team, to Dandenong CC, her travels with CWOB which have also taken her to Japan, back to Australia and then a career move to the ACT working with Cricket ACT and playing with the ACT Meteors and then a brief look into what the future may hold for Chelsea.  

A sports lawyer by background, Lydia has transitioned into sport management and apart from her current role has held senior roles in professional, semi-professional and community sport in football (soccer) and AFL while also having held senior government roles in state event corporations in both Victoria and Western Australia.

Throughout her professional life Lydia has also maintained lecturing positions in sport law and sport management in a number of universities and is also an active member of the Australian & New Zealand Sports Law Association.

Lydia is also currently a Director of Cricket Victoria and Bowls Australia.

Jennie grew up in a cricket-loving family in Bowral, where Sir Donald Bradman grew up as a young boy and although not playing the game she always had an interest in the sport. However, it was later in life when her own daughter, Bianca started playing U11’s that Jennie really started to get involved in the administration of the sport and helped establish a girls team at her local club Drysdale CC before heading to the Geelong CC in Cricket Victoria’s Premier Cricket Competition to help the Club with its ambition of having their own girls/women’s teams in the Premier Competition.

Within a few short years Jennie, an excellent organiser with a sharp eye for detail and a strategic thinker, joined the Club’s committee, was then appointed Secretary – this soon morphed into a Vice President’s role and prior to the current season was elected President of the Geelong CC! 

There have been a few hurdles to jump for the Club along the way but it is clear in the discussion with Jennie that her passion for the sport and the growth of women’s cricket will definitely ensure sustainable success for the Club in the future. 

Links:
Geelong Cricket Club website
Cricket Without Borders website

Aymen is an award –winning multilingual sports journalist, commentator and presenter based in London. 

She has won numerous awards and was named the NCTJ Sports Journalist of the Year in 2023 for her exclusive report in the Telegraph writing about how women were affected by English cricket’s racism scandal. Her work has appeared in BBC Sport, The Telegraph, Wisden, The Times and more and Aymen currently works for Sky Sports.

Ayment recently made the trip from London to cover Cricket Without Borders historic match against an Afghani Women’s Eleven played here in Melbourne on the 30th January.   

Louise has done it all in the game of cricket and more! We hear about her wonderful career that began at school and then progressed to represent her State(s) and country but that was not enough as she has given back to the sport as an administrator and now pursuing a career in umpiring. 

In between all of her cricket career Lousie has also served in the police force and the Army Reserve including a tour of duty in Afghanistan which we hear about. 

Louise now works for Tennis Australia in their Integrity Unit which we also learn about in a fascinating chat.         

Emma is a long-time friend of Cricket Without Borders (CWOB) of many years and who was one of the key people instrumental in securing the evacuation of the Afghan Women Cricketers and some officials in 2021 following the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021.

She also worked very closely with CWOB around the organisation of the historic cricket match on the 30th January between the Afghani Women and Cricket Without Borders .

Emma has had a long career working in the sports industry and along with Mel Jones co-founded “Its Game On” in December 2021. She is a strong advocate for the development of gender inclusive strategies in sport and again with Mel Jones is a strong advocate for “Pitch Our Future” which aims to raise $1.5 million to fund an initial 3-year program to assist the Afghani cricketers and their families with educational scholarships and specialised coaching support.        

Donate to Pitch Our Future here

Alana is widely-regarded as the best leg spin bowler in world cricket today (male or female) and has drawn comparisons with the great Shane Warne.

Growing up in Melbourne, Alana was a very talented young sportswoman excelling in tennis, softball, baseball and cricket.

Fortunately, she chose cricket as her primary sport and you'll hear about her journey in the sport from club cricket, to her first professional contract at aged 16 representing Victoria, Western Australia, Australia and various overseas franchise teams.

Along the way, Alana toured with Cricket Without Borders on a number of occasions and we also learn a little about some of her experiences and the impact of CWOB on her career.

Harry spent almost 30 years with the Australian Defence Force most of which was with Australia’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) as a Team Commander and Team Specialist.

He completed 11 active service deployments and was wounded in action in 2008.

Harry now runs a human performance consultancy working with sports teams (including Collingwood FC), the military and industry.

In 2020, he released his memoir, titled “Eleven Bats”, a book about his military service and his love of cricket and described by ABC Cricket Commentator Jim Maxwell as “ a compelling story of combat, survival and backyard cricket in a war zone.”

In a wonderful discussion across many subjects we also hear about the Eleven Bats that are now on display in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Bhavi was born in Zimbabwe in a family of Indian origin and encountered a range of cultural experiences just to be able to play the game. 

She represented WA and the Perth Scorchers before moving to Melbourne to join the Melbourne Stars and Victoria and in so doing represented the Ringwood Cricket Club, twice winning the Una Paisley Medal for the best player in the Cricket Victoria Women’s Premier Competition.

After three years in Melbourne, Bhavi returned to Perth and founded her own business, The Inside Edge Project, working with athletes and teams creating culturally-aware, psychologically safe spaces for growth.

Dr Sarah Fane OBE studied medicine at Bristol University and during this time travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan and again to Afghanistan in 2001 under the Taliban Regime. In 2002, Sarah established the charity, Afghan Connection which subsequently supported some 500,000 children with health, education and cricket including the renovation of 130 schools and the construction of 110 cricket pitches in schools and disability centres.

In 2020, Sarah accepted a newly created role of Director of the MCC Foundation, based at Lords.

We have an enthralling discussion about her time in Afghanistan, the wonderful work of her charity and now the passion she has brought to the MCC Foundation helping children not only in England but around the world in countries like Nepal, Lebanon, East Africa, Sri Lanka and South Africa.  

Sarah is also an honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club.

MCC Foundation website

Malcolm has had an illustrious career in sports administration.

A lawyer by profession, he has held senior executive roles with the National Basketball League, Cricket Australia, the International Cricket Council, among others.  He is also the co-founder of the Sport Environment Alliance and has held board positions with the Australian Sports Commission, Golf Australia, the Victorian Council for Fitness and Health and his beloved Richmond Football Club.

We have an excellent discussion about the challenges and high points in Malcolm’s career, the growth of women’s cricket and Malcolm’s thoughts around private equity investment in sport.

Dinesh moved from India originally to play cricket in Malaysia and in the manner of dreams come true, liked the country and the people so much that he stayed! He commenced working for the MCA as a Development Officer in 2009, moved his way up through the ranks and was appointed CEO in 2023. Dinesh has a strong ambition to see Malaysian cricket–both male and female teams qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup within the next three years.

We have a wonderful discussion around the structure of cricket in Malaysia, what the MCA is doing to promote cricket in schools for boys and girls, the support provided by the MCA to help them further their education, the hosting of the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup in January this year.

Finally, Dinesh talks about the recent appointment of the highly successful coach, former Victorian and Australian player Dav Whatmore as the MCA’s Director of Cricket and National Coach of the Women’s team.

Trudy, an Australian, has been in the role at Cricket Scotland for just under two years after an extensive career in leadership roles across international and domestic cricket and cycling, working in diverse cultures and environments.

As the first female CEO of Cricket Scotland, Trudy is leading a significant cultural transformation alongside a structural and governance change across the sport.

Earlier this year, Trudy launched Cricket Scotland’s Women and Girls Action Plan which we discussed along with learnings from some of her early mentors in sports administration, as well as the issues facing Scotland and other ICC Associate Member Countries. 

Following the tragic death of Australian sporting icon Shane Warne, his family and close friends, including Helen, established “The Shane Warne Legacy” that provides free health checks for all Australians.  

Helen previously worked as Shane’s PA for 15 years and during a sometimes emotional discussion we hear some of Helen’s fond memories of Shane, how they first met and their “brother /sister” type relationship, notwithstanding she worked for him.

The Shane Warne Legacy has some wonderful partners and with this support has now provided free health checks to over 360,000 Australians and along the way has assisted in saving lives – we hear of some heartfelt letters of thanks to Helen from some people who have taken the test and just in the knick of time for their long-term health!

Truly a heartfelt chat with Helen that I am sure everyone will enjoy!      

Shane Warne Legacy website

Jenni is an Australian woman who grew up in Holbrook, NSW but now living in Bedfordshire in the UK  with her daughters and husband, all of whom enjoying the game of cricket. Their local club is Ampthill Town CC and Jenni like many other volunteers, is fully immersed in the club as a scorer, team manager and Umpire.

Along the way has been an interest in writing and she has written two children’s books about cricket with a third on the way.

We discuss all of the above and, of course the upcoming Ashes Series!