Bronte Stray Named Head Coach for NT’s First U16 Female National Side

As Cricket Australia’s ‘Women and Girl’s Week’ continues to celebrate the growing contributions of females around the country, day seven focuses on the theme of ‘coaching’.

While the summer will be headlined by the Women’s Ashes, the ‘next generation’ of Australian female talent will be on display at junior National Championships, and in a momentous occasion for Northern Territory Cricket, it will field a side for the first-time at the Under 16 Female National Championships in Ballarat. This reflects the growing momentum (junior female participants up 64% since 2021/22) and pathway opportunities for the Territory’s best emerging female talent.

Leading the NT U16 side as head coach will be Alice Spring’s Bronte Stray, who has been a significant contributor to her local community (and wider NT) in various coaching, mentoring and playing capacities.

Originally from Melbourne, Stray’s cricketing journey began at the age of six, playing nine years of junior cricket for Ainslie Park CC and senior cricket for Box Hill CC (including debuting in the Third XI at age 11), where she played with and against the likes of Rachel Haynes, Meg Lanning, Nat Challis and Elyse Villani.

At a time when pathway and professional opportunities for females were limited, Stray cites her involvement and selection in the Victorian U13 School Girls team as ‘a moment she will never forget’.

“It was the first time in my cricketing journey I turned up and saw a sea of young girls wanting to play cricket. I was taken back that, other young girls had similar passions, and this has inspired me to continue creating opportunities for young girls to experience that same feeling to this day”. 

After relocating to Alice Springs in 2014, Stray has since pursued a career in her ‘dream job’ of zoo-keeping and ecological consulting but remains heavily involved in the NT cricketing community. On five occasions Stray has coached the NT Female National Indigenous Cricket Championship side, while she has also led high performance Academy’s, engaged in Woolworths Cricket Blast Programs, and captained her local sides Wests and Alice Springs in representative cricket.

Given the NT’s rich and diverse cultures, Stray notes her various leadership experiences have taught how to adapt her coaching style to each age, culture and team – and the opportunity to coach the NT’s first-ever U16 team is a means of giving back to the Territory which has given her so much.

“We have seen more and more opportunities for young girls to participate in and enjoy cricket at all levels, especially with the involvement of two Alice Springs girls in the NT U16 side, so I am extremely thankful of the support of NT Cricket and Cricket Australia”.

NT’s participation in the U16 Nationals is a chance to recognise and celebrate the development of female cricket. With NT’s two largest towns (Darwin and Alice Springs) located 1,500KMs apart – and Darwin’s cricket season running during the traditional Australian ‘winter’ months – the involvement of Territorian girls and coaches on the national stage is a win for all.