The current powerhouses of women's cricket had the Preforming Arts Centre at Chevalier College full of the future of women's cricket.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fairbreak Global XI women's cricket team will be facing off with Bradman XI at Bradman Oval in a show of women's cricket power.
Former Chevalier student and founder of Fairbreak Global, Shaun Martyn introduced the Fairbreak team and spoke of how it all began.
He was also greeted with a blast from the past as his 1970 400m running record still held.
"(laughs) I can't believe that is still a record!," Martyn said.
"I started with Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar years ago and wrote her book with her. In 2013 when she retired, she was the highest paid cricketer on $15,000 a year. That included 15 public appearances.
"We set about trying to redress that imbalance and I've been working on continuing that idea developing a global tournament for woman's cricket so we can challenge some of these inequalities in opportunities and pay.
"At that time Sthalekar was the vice captain of Australia. Cricket Australia got a bit annoyed with me when I said does Michael Clarke have to do 800 public appearances for his $800,000? Now we have Breakaway."
Selina Solman the first person from Vanuatu to play club cricket in Australia plays in South Australia and reflected on what brought her to the home of cricket.
"I think for me, my family and my cousin influenced me to get into the game of cricket," Ms Solman said.
"When I started playing cricket, I had an immediate passion for it. I love cricket. I started playing six years ago. I love it because you don't have to be a certain size to play."
Fairbreak Global team captain, Sana Mir from Pakistan has broken the mold and chased her dreams even when things didn't look promising for her.
"Many of us girls were not happy with how women were represented in cricket," Ms Mir said.
"Most of us when we started we didn't have a team to play with. It's very important for any country or nation to fill that gap and whatever you are passionate about and fills your heart, you should peruse."
A lot of the girls on the Breakaway team have a similar story, but like for any team, the game of cricket has changed their lives.
"I think it's the same story for most of us," Ms Mir said.
"Cricket for women and girls wasn't developed so we started our backyards with our brothers, fathers and cousins.
"Once we got to know we had an actual team, we went to try out. I've seen how cricket can change lives and being a part of a team within a community can have its affect on people."
Sterre Kalis from the Netherlands had to move country to peruse her passion and she doesn't regret one moment of it.
"When I started out, I always had to play with the boys," Kalis said.
"I then came at an age where I didn't want to play with them anymore. I'd played since I was seven. I then went to England because I wanted to play against women and not men anymore.
"There was a women's team in the Netherlands, but they were not to a high standard, so I had to move and haven't looked back."
Celeste Rack from Ireland grew up in Australia and is so appreciative of the opportunities this country has opened for her in her cricket career.
"There is so much more cricket in Australia, you're all so lucky," Rack said.
"When I grew up it was all boys. A lot of the girls on this team weren't lucky enough to have cricket in their home countries, so it is great to see that things are changing around the world."
Bradman XI will face off in a T20 match with the Fairbreak Global XI team at the iconic Bradman Oval on Saturday, February 22.
The match will begin at 2:15pm.
High Tea will be held from 12:30-2:10pm. Tickets are $45 each and include champagne on arrival. Tickets include museum admission and entry to the VIP viewing area.
Tickets can be purchased at Bradman Museum.
