A talented 18-year-old Te Puke cricketer has been named Northern Districts Young Female Player of the Year.

Brittany Jenkins was recognised for having her best year yet representing Northern Districts at the awards evening at SkyCity in Kirikiriroa-Hamilton on Friday, April 4.

Throughout the season, she has been a “constant performer” in the Northern Districts A and Under-19 Women’s teams. The pace bowler was the top wicket-taker across the country for the Women’s A cricket with 17 wickets throughout the summer.

“It was a surprise to be nominated,” Jenkins admitted. “I knew I’d had a good season but didn’t know that I would win.”

Cricket beginnings

The Welcome Bay resident has been playing since she was 10 years old.

“I would watch my dad play business house, and we’d practice in the back yard together,” said Jenkins. “He signed me up to an all-boys team in primary school because the girls cricket team wasn’t as serious. I knew that year that I wanted to take it quite seriously.”

Now into her first year studying towards a Bachelor of Sport and Health Science at Waikato University, she has spent the season playing for Te Puke Cricket’s senior reserves.

“One of the guys reached out to see whether I could play in a few games and I ended up staying,” she said. “At first, some men were shocked to find a woman playing in the men’s competition. Some teams would put their spin bowlers in when I walked out to bat. Now they put their pace bowlers on because they know I can handle it. To be fair, I wouldn’t be playing in that competition if I wasn’t capable.”

Aspirations

Jenkins aspires to one day play for New Zealand.

“My next goal would be to make the Northern Brave women’s team and then getting on to the New Zealand development side. I want to take it as far as I can – to compete overseas for our national team.”