Advocate in white follows family tradition
THE Sirens are on the up.
THE Sirens are on the up. Guernsey's only women's cricket club has just embarked on its first season of afternoon league and they made an immediate impression.
It won its first Division Two match against Optimists Two by 56 runs. Admittedly there was some help from Jazz Hats men, but the majority of vital contributions came from the Sirens themselves.
Helen Johns hit 34 not out in their 110 for nine before Julia White claimed four wickets with her right-arm medium-pacers as the opposition were skittled out for 54.
No wonder the bowler was beaming about the club's first experience of afternoon league cricket.
'It was surprisingly good. We were hoping to have a Colts' League game the Friday before but we were straight into it,' said White, daughter of the late Brigadier Mike White, a name synonymous with Guernsey cricket.
'Jazz Hats very kindly help us out with a couple of batsmen and they help us to get runs on the scoreboard, which is where we still struggle at the moment.
'Simon Le Friec was great to have as opener and he batted really well. I got the chance to open with him and it does give you confidence having someone like him with you. Helen Johns is our outstanding player and she also batted very well.
'Then, taking wickets bolstered our confidence enormously. We did very well, although we did not expect our first win to come in the first game.'
Second time out the Sirens were defeated in the pouring rain against Parishioners Goldridge Stone, but it has certainly not dampened their spirits.
The club continues to grow and the players are undoubtedly improving.
'It's going really well now. People are coming along and joining us all of the time and by moving into the afternoon league, it is stepping up the seriousness of it,' White said, in her second season with the team.
'I was never really happy playing 16-over stuff - the way I was brought up, that's not proper cricket. Those reasonably keen relish the chance to play 35 overs.
'We would like to try and develop the skills of the team and build up a squad so that we get one big enough so those who like to play Colts' League, or players can concentrate on Afternoon League if they so wish. We could get the luxury of being able to pick one side for the evenings and another for the longer games.'
Being the daughter of a first-class cricketer - Mike White played for both Cambridge University and Northamptonshire - ensured that this Siren was always going to be interested in the game.
For years she has watched cricket and scored at games and, more recently, she took up the role of GICC secretary.
'We have always been very involved with the club. With father as president at a time when it was in the doldrums, he and John Appleyard pulled it up. When we used to come over in the summer holidays, GICC matches played a
big part.
However, she was wondering whether she would ever get the chance to play cricket when the opportunity arrived through a friend of a friend.
An interesting aside is that Brigadier White's obituary in The Times stated that: 'his final public appearance was to watch his daughter, Julia, make her cricketing debut for the Guernsey Sirens'.
'Father did not approve of girls playing,' she said with a grin. 'But he did want to take the credit for when I started playing.
'I've watched it all my life and have scored quite seriously - I have always loved the game. But I have never been in a situation where girls have played before. I have been in the Navy and if there had been a team there, I would have probably got involved.
'I thought I might have missed any chance I had, but it is great to get out onto the field,' added the associate advocate with team sponsor Carey Olsen.
The Sirens clearly enjoy themselves and there is an excellent social aspect to the club, but they also want to improve their game and they practise regularly with help from their coaches.
'Chris Day, her father, has also put a lot of time in as our squad manager and the coaches do remarkably well. The likes of Rob Turville, Ross and Kerry Bateman and this year Tim de Putron, who has given us a lot on batting, are very good and very loyal.'