Shropshire Star
Close

Oswestry CC’s Women & Girls’ cricket team awarded 2026 Softball Festival by Cricket Shropshire

Oswestry Cricket Club’s Women & Girls’ (WaGs) section, who dominated Shropshire’s recreational women’s cricket scene last summer by winning both the County Hardball and County Softball Leagues, and also received Cricket Shropshire’s Women’s Team of the Year Award, is delighted to announce it has been awarded a Women & Girls’ Softball Festival in 2026 by Cricket Shropshire.

By Tania Taylor
Published

The festival will take place at Oswestry CC’s Stonehouse Oval ground at Morda Road, Oswestry, on Sunday, July 5 between 9am – 1pm and is open to all Women & Girls’ teams in the county. Entries will be on a first come, first served basis. 

The round robin format will include two pitches for six x adult women’s teams and one pitch for U11s sides. The award of a festival is testament to the Club’s pro-active promotion of inclusive participation in female cricket. The announcement comes as the Oswestry WaGs revealed they now boast a record-breaking ten mother/daughter playing pairs amongst their 32-strong squad aged 11-67 years. 

Back row (L to R): Kamila Herbert, Hollie Dixon, Naomi Payne, Lisa Bladen, Jo Phillips, Helen Davenport, Jools Payne, Sarah Wilkinson, Linsey Arran. Front row (L to R): Charlotte Arran, Lucy Jermaine-Jones, Mia Davenport, Verity Pardoe, Kaycee Herbert. Picture: Nicola Jermaine Jones
Back row (L to R): Kamila Herbert, Hollie Dixon, Naomi Payne, Lisa Bladen, Jo Phillips, Helen Davenport, Jools Payne, Sarah Wilkinson, Linsey Arran. Front row (L to R): Charlotte Arran, Lucy Jermaine-Jones, Mia Davenport, Verity Pardoe, Kaycee Herbert. Picture: Nicola Jermaine Jones

“We are all thrilled to bits to formally announce our award of a Women & Girls’ cricket festival ahead of Mother’s Day,” said Oswestry WaGs Team Manager, Jools Payne. “Women’s cricket will have an incredible profile this summer with England hosting the ICC’s Women’s T20 World Cup between June – July. We’ll be tapping into that in a big way in hosting our Festival of Cricket, Culture and Community, with the softball festival taking place in the morning, followed by a celebration lunch of international dishes and big screen viewing of the WWC T20 final at Lords in the afternoon. 

“It will be a fun-filled, all-day event featuring pitch-side activities for all the family. We know places will fill up fast, so I’d urge interested teams to get in quick. To register interest in your team’s participation please email in the first instance jools@thejoolspaynepartnership.com.” 

Oswestry CC WaGs are sponsored by Welshpool Printing Group, Oswestry Approved Care & Support, Turner Group and The Jools Payne Partnership. Welshpool Printing Group (WPG) is sponsoring the Festival’s Player of the Tournament Awards for both the adult and U11 girls players. Other Festival sponsorships are set to be announced by the Club next month.