The North East Warriors, merged senior women’s and U17/18 sides between Durham Cricket and Northumberland Cricket Board, are inviting trial applications for the 2021 season.
The Warriors are looking for prospective senior and U18 players interested in trailing for the high-performance sides ahead of the 2021 season.
The North East Warriors are the new Senior Women’s and U17/18 Girls’ County teams created as joint sides between Durham Cricket and Northumberland Cricket Board, following the announcement of a united high performance pathway for women and girls in the North East last winter.
The North East Warriors played a shortened first season as a merged entity but despite the pandemic, the Warriors were able to play games at senior and RDC level.
The highlight of the season was the selection and inclusion of four Warriors players to the Northern Diamonds side in their 2020 campaign, which ended with the team getting to the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
Layla Tipton, Helen Fenby, Ami Campbell and Rachel Hopkins got to be at the inaugural final at Edgbaston, during which the Northern Diamonds came out as runners-up.
Now as we look ahead to 2021, the coaching team of the North East Warriors are looking for female cricketers, who would like to trial for the squads.
Below we provide more details as well as an update on plans for the 2021 season.
Senior Women
The current ECB and Government Guidelines currently restrict adult indoor sport to one-to-one in tier 3 and two-to-one in tier 2 and for that reason the selection process for the Senior side will take place or a one-to-one or one-to-two basis with dates of trials to be confirmed.
If indoor training is allowed, the squad will train at Emirates Riverside on Friday evenings from 7.00pm until 9.00pm and at Northumberland Cricket Club on Saturdays afternoons from 2.00pm until 4.00pm.
The Women’s Senior games for 20201 will take place on: Sunday 25th April, Monday 3rd May, Sunday 9th May, Sunday 6th May – Please consider your availability when deciding to trial.
Players interested in trialling for the North East Warriors Senior side should apply via the link below.
Deadline for applications is Monday 4th January, 12pm.
U18 Side
The England and Wales Board (ECB) is yet to confirm the structure and fixtures of this level of the female game.
Last season, the sides played as Under-17 squads plus three over-age players. However, this may change to an Under-18 structure from 2021 to mirror the boys programme.
In light of this, we will run a selection process for an Under-18 squad (year 13 and down). If players have turned 18 currently, they will be eligible to trial also.
The final U18 squad will not be finalised until all players have had a chance to trial but depending on COVID-19 restrictions, an indoor training squad maybe selected.
Trials and training sessions will take place at Emirates Riverside on Sunday mornings from January.
Players interested in trialling for the North East Warriors U18 side should apply via the link below.
Deadline for applications is Monday 4th January, 12pm.
Regional Development Centres:
The Regional Development Structure, which the Girls’ Academy fell under, has now been replaced by ECB’s regional hub structure.
Durham and Northumberland fall under the Northern Diamonds and our players are currently involved in Academy observations with the Diamonds.
North East Warriors Coaching Team for 2021
The North East Warriors programme for 2021 will be led by Tom Cant (Northumberland Cricket Board) and Rachel Hopkins (Durham Cricket), supported by County Board staff.
Danielle Hazell has now moved to a full-time position with the Northern Diamonds as their Head Coach.
The Warriors structure will work closely with Yorkshire and the Diamonds staff to provide extra opportunities for the girls at all levels.