FIVE OF OUR OWN. DAY 4 . ELLIE THRELKELD

Date: 29th December 2021

(Rainford, Lancashire and North West Thunder)

Day 4

Ellie Threlkeld (23) has come a long way since she started playing cricket in the back garden with her elder brother Will. “They were proper games” she said, “When you were out, you were out”. At the age of seven she followed Will down to Rainford Cricket Club and has a happy memory of soft ball cricket on Friday evenings and particularly recalls the summer camps, finishing with a World Cup tournament on the final day. Ellie remembers,beginning to play hardball cricket with the boys when aged 9 and was also selected to play for St Helen’s District at U11, again with the boys, carrying on at U13 and U15.

Fortunately, at that time, Lancashire had just appointed a Women’s and Girls Cricket Officer, Jenny Barden, and was beginning to form a Girl’s pathway to run alongside the successful boy’s system. In 2008, aged 10, Ellie joined the County system at U11 and quite simply, has never left.

The next few years were spent playing Girls Age Group cricket with Lancashire and Junior League cricket with Rainford until making her Lancashire Senior Women’s debut in a T20 against Warwickshire when aged just 14 in 2013. Wicketkeeper/batter Ellie made her 50 over debut for the County one year later, where she remembers playing alongside Kate Cross, Jasmine Titmuss and Natalie Brown, all of whom were of great help to her.

Throughout this time, Ellie pursued her great love of football, playing for Liverpool Girls and then Liverpool Ladies, moving to Wigan Athletic Ladies before calling a halt, not too long ago, as the smaller ball game began to take much greater priority. At club level the former Rainford High School Pupil played her first Senior game in the Liverpool Competition when aged 13 for the 3^rd X1 against Wigan. “Yes” said Ellie, “I didn’t keep because my brother Will was the Wicketkeeper”. One year later however, Ellie played for Rainford 2nds at Prestatyn, with a catch and a stumping, beginning a long period of 2^nd X1 cricket, keeping wicket and opening the batting, playing with several of her Junior colleagues. Ultimately Ellie forced her way into the 1^st X1 in 2017 at Orrell and has made the 1^st X1 gloves her own, whenever she is available, ever since.

Ellie says that Senior Club Cricket is very different from Women’s cricket. “The bowling is a lot quicker and I find that I have to stand further back and be ready to change my position more often. We play a lot of Women’s Competitions with a white ball and the red ball used on a Saturday afternoon moves around a lot more. When batting I notice the bowlers tend to bowl a heavier ball”. Ellie is a fan of time cricket played in the Liverpool Competition although she says “I found trying to bat for a long time a challenge and still do, but it is a healthy challenge which I enjoy.”

Ellie toured South Africa in 2018 with England Academy and after a non-stop continuous progression with Lancashire through Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League, North West Thunder in the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Ellie played for Manchester Originals in the 2021 Hundred. In December 2020 she was one of 41 female cricketers to sign a full time Professional Domestic Contract and in December this year was named in England’s A squad to tour Australia in January 2022.

To say that Ellie is excited about what lies ahead is an understatement but she admits to being “more relieved, than anything else”. It is a call up earned through years of hard work and quality cricket, all of which she says she has “enjoyed every minute”. Ellie recognises the huge support and encouragement from many people, none more so than from her parents and Will, as well as all the young lads she grew up with at Rainford and the Senior players at the club. Ellie also acknowledges the coaching support from Chris Chambers in her early years and regards the recent input from Paul Shaw, Stephen Parry and Craig White as invaluable.

Just right now however, Ellie is most proud and relieved to have completed her Undergraduate degree in Psychology at Loughborough University and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree qualification in Sports Psychology.