Female cricketer making history at Denstone College

Sophie Hughes recently became the first female cricketer to play in the school's 1st XI. She and director of cricket at the school Simon Guy spoke to CHARLOTTE HINDSON about the journey so far

Future cricket star Sophie Hughes has made history at Denstone College becoming the first female cricketer to be included in the 1st XI cricket team. 

Hughes made her 1st XI debut against Checkley Under-19s and it has created a well-deserved buzz around the young prospect. 

“There's been quite a bit of fuss because I'm the first girl to play in the boys' team, it was pretty special. I find it embarrassing sometimes because all the attention is on me, but I guess it's good in a way, I enjoyed it.” Hughes tells The Cricketer 

“Playing cricket for the first team at school is a massive achievement as well as just getting into county level. I think that’s where it all became properly serious for me, and it made me realise just how much I appreciate the sport and how much I do enjoy it.”

Having started to play cricket at a very young age, Sophie is following in her father’s footsteps by being a part of the school 1st XI. Jan Hughes was captain of Denstone College’s 1st XI (82-87) while Emma Hughes, Sophie’s aunt, played for the women’s 1st XI (83-90). Having heard the news of Hughes’ achievement her family were over the moon.

“I got a phone call straight away from my auntie screaming down the phone with happiness after hearing the news. They are all so proud of me, they always support me in whatever I do, and they are willing to take me to no matter what lengths to ensure that I can get the most of what I can do and make me achieve everything I am capable of. They are truly so supportive, and they just want to do what is best for me.

^{Hughes with England captain Joe Root}

“I started playing for Denstone when I joined in Year 7. I have always played in the boys’ team and then there's a girls’ team that I also play in but the majority of the time I play with the boys.” 

Director of cricket and former Yorkshire player, Simon Guy who also coaches Sophie for Warwickshire Ladies spoke about the impact Sophie has made on the team while also changing the opinions of the boys. 

“It's was hard for Soph that when you are surrounded by boys and all the pressure from them it can be harder to relax and enjoy the game. The boys have been very welcoming and made her part of the group and the environment, it's made Sophie feel relaxed and meant she can enjoy the game and progress even more,” Guy tells The Cricketer.

“I have been here six years now and myself and Sophie have built a relationship like I have with the other girls. Sophie originally started as a bowler that could bat whereas now, we would probably see her as a batter that can bowl. In the female game, she offers both arts but in the male game at the moment we see her batting as her primary role within the team. The types of bowling we see in the male and female games are very different and a completely different styles depending on the environment. It can be easier at times to score in men’s cricket than to score in women’s cricket.

“Sophie has performed well over the years and has fitted in well playing with the boys. It does take girls time to fit into playing with the boys, but we are very lucky in that we have some good year groups that do want the girls to be involved.

“Sophie’s highlights for me are mostly in the last 12 months where her whole attitude and mindset towards working with us has been very different. Like she said, initially, she felt it was quite embarrassing being a female and going through all those transitions with lots of boys around being in and out of teams. Whereas now she feels a lot happier with her own game and she knows what she wants to work on and how she wants to do that whereas previously at times she was a bit embarrassed if we were to try something different. Now she is a lot more open-minded to trying different things which is excellent, and it makes her capacity for change and learning so much better.”

Guy believes that one of the main reasons for the girls’ progress in cricket at Denstone College is the ECB allowing girls to play down a year. 

^{Hughes alongside former Leicestershire captain Jeremy Snape}

“This is great for the girls’ confidence, and it is also great for the boys to understand that transitioning the girls into the game can make it better for everyone. Sophie has played up and down a year over the past few years as well which has helped her have more opportunities. If you look at the girls’ program here at Denstone, they now have more chances than the boys because they can play in the girls’ team and the boys’ team and also play down a year.

“I think if you look at a lot of schools the girls often feel like they’re being left out I'm hoping from a cricket point of view at Denstone they get more opportunities from the year below and their age group as well, just like the fact that this opportunity came along, and we took it.”

Hughes, like most female sports players at Denstone, plays multiple sports at a high level. One of her biggest achievements was being selected for England Under-16s hockey team in 2019. Unfortunately, she got injured to the point where she couldn’t run and had to take a year off all sports to allow a full recovery. 

“I had a busy summer two years ago with a trip to South Africa with school’s hockey team and playing in the Futures Cup which enabled me to get through to England Under-16s," Hughes explains. "After the Futures Cup the pain was unbearable, and I had to start having physio every week. It took multiple different physios before I finally found one which has helped me for the past year to sort the pain out.

“It knocked my confidence massively and made me worry that if I did run what would happen. It got to a point where I couldn’t run at all without being in a lot of pain. This was hard to handle because obviously, I'd just got into England and achieved so much, and then all of a sudden I couldn’t play.

SCHOOLS HUB

“It was so frustrating because sport is my life, but I think to get back to the level I was at I had to accept that I was injured and mentally aim to get back to where I was. I wanted to get my fitness back which was the main thing and being able to understand that even though I had an injury I would be able to get myself back to where I was. Ultimately, it's just life and you're going to get injured. My coaches like Simon and my hockey coaches understood that I couldn’t do anything about it, and they just helped me with my rehab.”

Guy is confident that this injury hasn’t set Hughes back and that now she’s got to the other side she will hit the ground running with her training and be back to the position she was in before in no time. 

“It's a really good example of young players having setbacks and going through adversities at a young age, and you look across all sports on all platforms the great players all talk about setbacks, adversities, and challenges that happen at a young age,” Guy explains. “Even though at the time it's devastating going through the challenges at a young age prepares you for later life.”

Looking back on her injury, Hughes is appreciative that she has been able to overcome this setback and is keen to share her advice on how to overcome challenges and obstacles with other sportsmen and women.

“I think that accepting the fact that you are injured and there's nothing you can do about it is the most important thing. Also, ensuring you stick to the small changes in your life such as completing your rehab and listening to the advice from the professionals because they do know what they’re on about. Always having that end goal in mind is crucial and so is setting yourself weekly goals, even if it's just making sure you’ve done your rehab every day. Finally, assuring that you find something else you can do that you love to keep your mind ticking and press through until the end.”

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