Brianna Ray, who recently showcased her talents in Australia, will be back on island to take part in the Bermuda Cricket Board’s Women’s 6x6 CRIIO Cricket Festival.

Ray, who played against men for Flatts in the Athene T20 Knockout Cup last year, turned out this year for South Perth Cricket Club but will be at the National Sports Centre on Wednesday, April 30, between 6pm and 9pm to help aspiring female cricketers take part in a skills and drills session.

The BCB is launching the festival in the hope of attracting women to the sport with the aim of eventually strengthening domestic competitions for women and creating a pathway to a national programme.

Cal Blankendal, executive director of the BCB, is optimistic that the festival will bring more women into the game in Bermuda.

“It’s going to be a fun event under the CRIIO cricket umbrella of ICC, which is a grass roots developmental programme to encourage the development the game of cricket in emerging markets and regions,” Blankendal said,

“We are emerging as far as women’s cricket is concerned. We’ve noticed in hard=ball cricket that we have at least 25 to 30 women interested but to have additional players and teams we need to take a step back and introduce those not used to cricket to try the sport.

“CRIIO cricket is traditionally a 6x6 format but before we get to that level we want to make sure ladies can experience catching, batting and bowling with a soft ball, a bit harder than a tennis ball but not as hard as a cricket ball, have fun and play the game and see if it’s something they would like to do more often.

“From there it’s something we would like to use to grow our domestic leagues and competitions. It takes patience and learning the game but if we don’t have the women it will be difficult to form a national programme similar to our men’s and we want to offer the same opportunities.”

The session at the National Sports Centre is free of charge for potential players and the sessions will be led by some of Bermuda’s ICC-certified coaches.

“The women’s festival also offers an opportunity for our coaches who have recently done a level 1 ICC qualification,” Blankendal said.

“They are being asked to come, assist with sessions and can be assessed and accredited. We are doing a hybrid event for new coaches, women and creating a festival that will hopefully lead to the creation of a robust league and domestic competitions over time.”