Yorkshire Call-Up

A teenager from Leeds was celebrating last month after winning a place in a prestigious county cricket side.

13-year-old Aisha Hussain has been playing cricket for five years for her local clubs and school, yet it was her latest acceptance into the West Yorkshire Girl’s U13 Cricket Team that delighted the passionate sportswoman.

The Gateways Year 8 pupil was selected after completing a trial period with the squad and will now go on to train and play with her new teammates throughout the summer.

BOWLER: Aisha Hussain, a pace bowler, has been selected as the latest squad member of West Yorkshire Girl’s U13 Cricket Team following a successful trial

Speaking after hearing the news, Aisha said she couldn’t wait to begin and explained how her hobby of cricket quickly turned into a real passion.

“I always liked playing cricket in the garden when I was little and so I joined an after school club,” she said.
“I really enjoyed it so then I joined Shadwell cricket club the following year and after about two or three years I moved on to Bardsey who I still play for.”

For the latest chapter in her cricketing career, Aisha had to undergo two trials qualify for the West Yorkshire team.

The first was an indoor nets session before a second contest was setup outside giving prospective squad members the chance to take part in a match situation.

Aisha, who is a pace bowler, was informed last month that she had been selected for the squad and explained what her busy summer was now likely to entail.

She said: “I will be training with the West Yorkshire squad every Saturday and playing matches. And I will be training and playing matches with my club.”

Gateways School Headmistress Dr Tracy Johnson praised the student for all her hard work, adding that Aisha certainly deserves all the plaudits that come her way.

“We are all very proud of Aisha’s achievement in being selected for the Under-13 West Yorkshire Girls’ cricket team,” she said.

“She has put in a lot of work and training to get to this point in a sport she is passionate about and we wish her a successful season.”