CRICKET has been a passion for Gunnedah’s Sally Keeler for a large part of her life.

When it came time to make her NSW Masters debut, Keeler was thrilled to embrace the opportunity and ventured north for the June long weekend to Brisbane.

Keeler formed part of the 12-person first division NSW Blues team that competed against the Queensland Maroons at Everton District Cricket Club’s Peter Gallagher Oval.

The teams battled it out in two Twenty20 games and again in a 35-over game on the following day as part of the Ready-Henry Shield named in honour of Marg Ready and Jess Henry for their decades of contribution to women’s veteran cricket.

NSW narrowly missed out on victory in some of the games by just a handful of runs.

The Queensland women won 9/95 while the Blues were 6/90 at the completion of 20 overs in the first game.

Queensland improved slightly in the second game, winning 4/108 to NSW’s 6/93.

NSW narrowly missed out on glory in the final game, with Queensland winning 7/136 in 35 overs while NSW were bowled out just short of the run tally needed and were 10/133 on 34.5 overs.

While not the result Keeler had hoped for, she relished the experience to continue pursuing the sport she loves.
“They were some close, good games,” Keeler said.

Keeler, who plays in a fun Friday night competition in Gunnedah, previously competed with the NSW indigenous team.

“It was great to get back into competitive cricket,” Keeler said.

“I was a bit sore for a few days after.”

Keeler said the Masters tournament was also an opportunity to continue to grow her skills while working on areas of improvement.

“I want to continue working on my batting and fitness,” Keeler said as she sets her sights on getting selected for the Nationals series to be held in Launceston, Tasmania, later this year.

K“I really enjoyed the experience.”eeler also made the most of reuniting with friends from the cricket fraternity while making new ones in what was a social atmosphere.

“It’s great to see more women back playing cricket,” she said.

A significant highlight of the experience for Keeler was hearing Ready and Henry speak about the development of women’s cricket.

“They have been pioneers for women’s cricket,” Keeler said of the pair.