Clare Haysom is a dynamic young umpire on the rise within the cricket community.

Having only commenced her umpiring career in community level cricket in 2019, Clare has quickly risen through the ranks into Premier Cricket and beyond, already having officiated in a number of premier matches, WBBL , WNCL , National Age Championships, Australia A v England A and has just recently been selected to officiate in a women’s Under 19 tri–series competition between Australia, Sri Lanka and England.

We hear about how Clare’s journey in umpiring began, some of the obstacles along the way, and her aspirations for the future.

We also hear about some of the skills and attributes Clare has in her professional life as a teacher of science and physics that can be helpful when she sets foot on the field as an umpire.

Deanne is a lifelong member of the North Geelong Cricket Club along with her husband, parents and three children.

Eleven years ago, along with her father, Deanne established a girls' cricket program at the Club which has now grown to have four teams. In addition to establishing the program Deanne has coordinated the program for nine seasons and coached various teams for three seasons as well as serving on the Geelong Cricket Association Junior Girls League Executive Committee.

Not resting on her laurels, four years ago Deanne established an All Abilities team at the cricket club, and what an inspirational initiative this has proven to be, and has been warmly embraced by the whole club.

We hear from Deanne about the benefits these decisions have provided not just to her cricket club but the broader community as well, along with some advice for other clubs who may and should consider doing likewise.

Ron Woods is a high-performance cricket coach based in Sydney with extensive experience in women’s cricket having progressed to appointment within the Cricket NSW Academy coaching framework and internationally. His coaching career spans club, private, state and international environments underpinned by a clearly defined performance methodology and athlete-centred model.

Earl Eddings played 272 games of Premier cricket for Northcote and North Melbourne CC’s and soon moved into administration as President of North Melbourne – at one point he was President, Coach and major sponsor of the Club all at the same time! He subsequently joined the Cricket Victoria Board, became Deputy Chairman and was subsequently elected to the Board of Cricket Australia for 13 years, including a term as Chairman which included guiding the organisation through the aftermath of “sandpaper gate “ in South Africa and the traumatic period of COVID-19 that almost ruined Australian cricket financially.

We discuss all of the above including Earl’s personal playing career, his thoughts around the growth of women’s cricket, the potential privatisation of the BBL/WBBL competitions and also discuss the issue of concussion management through the lens of HIT IQ and the benefits of the development of technology in mouthguards that are now being widely used in a range of sports both here in Australia and globally.

Hit IQ website

Kate was a member of the Australian U25 women’s cricket team that toured India in a ground breaking tour in 1975. We talk about the tour 50 years on and the impact of it in transforming women’s cricket in India. We also discuss Kate’s career for Victoria , her career with the ABC covering both cricket and hockey , two cricket legacy projects she is working on and her professional career since 1986 as an Art Consultant creating art eco-systems across a wide range of sectors and particularly in Health, Mental Health and Correctional Services.

Nick has worked across a number of sports with Cricket Victoria, Cricket Australia, the AFL and Football Victoria specialising in programs around multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion.

Nick has strong connections to the wonderful Sunshine Heights Cricket Club with four sons who play the game (including Peter Hatzoglou who has played in three BBL Champion teams) and who also has a fascination for ancient history and sport.

Anna is one of CWOB’s inaugural players from 2011 who has gone on to enjoy a celebrated career in Victorian Premier Cricket and currently sits in fourth position for the all-time number of games played.

Anna was elected Captain of the famous Melbourne Cricket Club at just 18 years of age and has embarked on a wonderful cricket journey with the MCC, Dandenong and Monash University Cricket Clubs as well as spending two seasons playing with the Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club in England.

Along this journey Anna has played in two premierships with the MCC and has also fallen in love with coaching where she has coached Victorian underage women’s teams and has now embarked on a program which sees her assisting the Victorian Emerging Players Program.

Apart from her cricket and studying physiotherapy Anna is a Health and Wellbeing Coordinator for senior citizens at retirement villages.

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!