Newsletter: June 4 2025
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“Me and Katherine being who we are, together in public and just being normal about it all, really - that's our way of being part of Pride. Pride to me is being comfortable enough to be who you are, and not having to hide it. That's our way of being part of the march.”
England cricket captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt talking in 2024 about Pride 🏳️🌈
Happy Pride month! At We are Girls in Sport we welcome everyone. We work to educate others and ourselves, inspire and make sport inclusive.
This week:
💥 Cricket - Introducing our new cricket writer - we’re thrilled to have the MCC’s Young Broadcaster of the Year! Read her first report.
💥 Tennis - What do you think of the night sessions’ furore? Plus, our first amateur sports story… 🎾
💥 Careers in sport - Go BTS with Scarlett Archer as she commentates on an F1 race.
💥 Athletics - For a weekend in May, a small unassuming town in Austria…
💥 The Highlights Reel - sports round-up to keep you in the know.
Image courtesy MCC
Cricket
We’re so happy to have Regina Suddahazai join us as our cricket contributor. Welcome Regina! We first met Regina back in 2023 and you can read our interview with her here. Amazing how things turn out!
Hi, I’m Regina Suddahazai. I'm a cricketer, broadcaster, and advocate for women and girls in sport.
I play for the Sussex Women and represent Italy internationally, having made my debut with a hat-trick at a European T10 tournament.
Off the pitch, I work with Cricket District to spotlight diverse voices in cricket. I also contribute to Take Her Lead’s mission of empowering women in sport through their content and social pages.
I was honoured to be named MCC Young Female Broadcaster of the Year, which included mentoring with Isa Guha and joining the Sky Sports team at The Hundred Final.
I'm excited to contribute to the We are Girls in Sport Newsletter highlighting all cricketing news fresh!
And here’s Regina’s first report…
Well, cricket Season is truly upon us and what a start to the English summer it has been! International cricket has been lighting up our screens and with the new assignment of Coach and Captain, England Women are well and truly thriving, especially after a disappointing Ashes series down under.
After a 3-0 IT20 series win over the West Indies, England Women have won their first ODI of the series against the West Indies at the county ground Derby.
The win sees Lindsey Smith receive her first ODI Cap for the international squad and Alice Capsey coming back into the side following the saddening news of former captain Heather Knight's injury. Knight’s continuous issue with her hamstring has unfortunately ruled her out of cricket for the summer and we wish her the speediest of recoveries.
The absence of such a key batter was compensated by hundreds from both Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones, Jones scoring her ODI maiden century!
Chasing a large total of 346, the Windies’ batters did put on their best efforts! Qianna Joseph redeemed herself from the previous IT20 series and bagged herself her second ODI half century. Unfortunately, the West Indies fell short to the spin of Lindsey Smith who ended with incredible bowling figures of 5/36 of her 10 overs. We can all agree, an outstanding performance from the debutant.
It seems the West Indies as a squad are developing those next generations of players to build up the future team. Bringing a young Jahzara Claxton into the squad has given the cricketing world a glimpse of future talents of the West Indies and led by the front by international superstar Hayley Matthews, all hope is not lost for the international side.
With the IT20 World Cup hosted in India quickly approaching, England cricket has an incredible plethora of strong players to select and are seemingly top contenders for the competition.
You can catch the next ODI live on Sky Sports Cricket on today (4 June!) from 11am.
Tennis - Amelie Brooks
Amidst the roar of the French crowd, the humidity of the Parisian site, and the numerous battles in the women’s draw - Roland Garros has once again sparked a passionate debate on the scheduling of women’s tennis matches.
Ons Jabeur, currently ranked WTA #36, commented on the “ironic” decision to consistently schedule a singular men’s match for the night session on the main court, Philippe Chatrier (a women’s singles match has not occurred in this session since 2023). Furthermore, only four women’s matches have been held in this “primetime” spot since it was introduced in 2021.
Jabeur commented that the decision is “unfortunate for women’s sports in general” and it highlights the international debate around the lack of televised coverage of women’s sports.
Whilst many other players on the WTA tour host varied opinions on the matter of scheduling, the majority come to the agreement that women’s tennis matches do not receive equal coverage, therefore prohibiting equal opportunities and equal respect for the women’s tour.
Sadly, GB’s Raducanu, Boulter and Kartal were all knocked out and so we look forward to Eastbourne and Queen’s for British success ahead of Wimbledon.
Last weekend, British tennis took to the gorgeous venue St. George’s Hill LTC to battle for the titles at NPL Finals Weekend.
The National Premier League (NPL) has been running since 2002, with the ladies’ event being introduced in 2019, as a prestigious doubles winter league event for clubs across the country.
The finals weekend consistently hosts players of a variety of levels, from club to professional, with high class doubles on display throughout.
This year saw The Roehampton Club face St. George’s Hill LTC in the eventual women’s final, with Roehampton taking the win.
Images courtesy Piers Herfet-Jones L-R Freya Christie, Mariam Bolkvadze, Eden Silva, Alicia Barnett
L-R Freya Christie, Alicia Barnett, Mariam Bolkvadze, Eden Silva, Holly Hutchinson, Emily Arbuthnott, Laura Morrill, Lily Miyazaki
Careers in sport - Scarlett Archer
BTS of Formula 1 commentating
“…As an F1 Commentator myself I love the thrill and energy of the race and telling the story of what’s happening out on the track. It doesn’t just happen though. A lot of prep goes into every race…”
Read more on our website, here.
Athletics - Ava John
For a weekend in May, a small, unassuming Austrian town is transformed into an arena where the world’s best combined event athletes battle to show what they are made of. Having always welcomed the strongest names in the discipline—Jessica Ennis-Hill, Nafi Thiam, Carolina Klüft—this year promised to be an enthralling showdown between Anna Hall (USA) and GB‘s Katarina Johnson-Thompson (KJT).
Unfortunately, KJT sustained an injury in the week leading up to the competition, shifting British hopes onto Abi Pawlett, an under-23 athlete who won Rookie of the Year at Götzis in 2024.
After day one, Abi had set two new personal bests: 12.94 in the 100m hurdles and 23.06 in the 200m, putting her on track to amass a large points total.
There was some talk after day one that Hall, who had faced a knee injury last season, could break the 7,000-point barrier if she maintained the magnificent form she had shown.
She led the heptathlon overnight and arrived on day two laser-focused. A solid long jump and a personal best in the javelin left her with a demanding task in the 800m: she had to run under 2 minutes and 3 seconds to surpass 7,000 points—and she did just that.
In the process, she set a new heptathlon world best in the event, finishing in 2:01.23—an insane achievement after six grueling events! She tallied 7,032 points, placing her joint second on the all-time list behind Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Abi Pawlett achieved another two PBs on day two and will be hoping to emulate her performance later this summer at the European Under-23 Championships in Norway.
Congratulations Abi!
ICYMI
Football - It’s all change for England ahead of the Euros as well as some good prep. Mary Earps has retired from international football, as has Fran Kirby. Both have been key players in the team, its success and also the growth of the sport. Earps’s was a shock announcement whilst Kirby decided after she was told she wouldn’t be picked for this summer’s tournament.
Meanwhile, the team won against Portugal 6-0 in the women’s Nation’s League but were knocked out on Tuesday to World Cup holders, Spain.
Scotland drew against the Netherlands to secure their first Nation’s League point and Northern Ireland also drew against Bosnia Herzegovina. Wales lost to Italy at home 1-4 with stalwart Jess Fishlock scoring their only goal in the 82nd minute.
Golf - Swede Maja Stark won the US Open at the weekend. Brit Charley Hull came 12th and amateur Brit Lottie Woad, 31st.
Rugby Union - The new rugby world cup trophy is touring around host country England! Make sure you don’t miss it by checking its route here.
Share your sporting stories with us - it’s really easy! We read every email and DM and we may well include your story in next week’s newsletter.
The WAGIS Team x