NCU

The Northern Cricket Union (NCU) is excited to announce a new competition for the 2021 season – the Gallagher Women's Challenge Plate.

In 2021, the Gallagher Women's Challenge Plate will see the seven sides in Division One of the women's league compete against each other in three rounds: the quarter-final, the semi-final and final.

The winner of the competition, along with the runners-up and the winner of a third-place play-off will join the five Premier League teams in the Gallagher Women's Challenge Cup.

The premise of the Gallagher Women's Challenge Plate is to provide more competitive matches for those who are starting out in the sport.

There will be three quarter-final ties: Holywood v Waringstown II, CSNI II v North Down II and Muckamore II v Instonians. The winner of these ties will progress to the semi-finals; they will be joined by Carrickfergus who received a bye in the quarter-final draw.

Speaking of the announcement, NCU Cricket Development Officer, Callum Atkinson, said: "We are excited to announce this new competition for the 2021 season."

"To provide women with more competitive cricket is fantastic – bringing the game into line with the men's Gallagher Challenge Cup where there's a preliminary round."

"The NCU would like to thank Gallagher for the continued support of our women's game and we look forward to working with them during this competition." 

Shane Matthews, NI Managing Director of Gallagher, said: "This year gives those starting out in cricket an opportunity to compete through the Gallagher Women's Challenge Plate and we are delighted to be a part of it."

"We were first involved in supporting women's cricket back in 2017 and it is so positive to see how much the game has grown in recent years - long may that continue."