Three new faces as ACT Meteors announce squad for 2020-21 season  

ACT Meteors have added three new faces as they announced a 14-member squad for the 2020-21 Women’s National Cricket League season on Friday (June 26). The new faces are Olivia Porter, Rebecca Carter and Allison McGrath. Madeline Penna technically had her contract upgraded at the end of last season after playing a number of matches.



The squad is a blend of youth and experience with the likes of seasoned players such as Erin Osborne, Angela Reakes and Katie Mack who will provide essential knowledge to the group while the youngsters will bring fresh perspectives to the team.



Among the new faces, the 23-year-old Carter comes into the side on the back of strong batting performance last season. The left-handed top-order batter from Melbourne has been playing for Box Hill for many years and scored over 900 runs in Premier Cricket last season.



Porter, 18, was highly involved in the underage pathway as part of the NSW Metropolitan teams. She was recruited due to her skills as a bowler and is also quite handy with the bat. She had captained her Premier Cricket Team at Universities Cricket Club and was also called in as a replacement on Sydney Thunder’s WBBL team last season.



McGrath joins in as a bowling allrounder. The 18-year old from Newcastle is not a stranger to Canberra, having played in last year’s Female T20 Bash competition. Like Olivia, she was also part of the underage pathway and was a part of the ACT/NSW Country teams.



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Speaking about the squad, Cricket ACT High-Performance Manager, Olivia Thornton, said, “We have a diverse set of skills across the group so there will be a healthy internal competition for spots this season.” The players from last season who missed out are Sarah Coyte, Isabelle Afaras, Claire Koski and Anna Lanning.



She is also excited about the prospect of having the entire squad located in Canberra. “This might be the first time ever that all the players will be based in Canberra. When you talk about creating and developing a quality culture, this certainly contributes to it,” she said.



Last year Angela Reakes was out mid-season due to an injury but has been working diligently with Dr. Kylie Shaw and other medical staff to get back to her usual form. “She is itching to get back out on the field and is keen to have a really productive season this year,” Thornton added.



Meanwhile, a new captain and coach have also been appointed which are expected to be announced next week.



The squad: Maitlan Brown, Zoe Cooke. Nicola Hancock, Amy Yates, Carly Leeson, Matilda Lugg, Erin Osborne, Olivia Porter, Rebecca Carter, Katie Mack, Angela Reakes, Madeline Penna, Erica Kershaw and Allison McGrath.