Bears unveil first Women’s Honours Board

Warwickshire County Cricket Club welcomed players old and new to Edgbaston Stadium on Thursday for the unveiling of the club’s first Warwickshire Women’s Honours Board.

2026-09-03T17:00+01:00

The board has been created following months of research and will permanently celebrate nearly 90 years of women's cricket heritage in the county. It honours generations of players across four distinct eras of the game:

The Warwickshire Women's pioneers who represented the county between 1937 and 1965.

The West Midlands Women era from 1965 to 2000.

Warwickshire Women players from 2001 onwards, including both amateur and professional players.

Central Sparks players who represented the region between 2020 and 2024.

The unveiling took place prior to today’s Metro Bank One Day Cup fixture against Essex, with those in attendance ranging from the current coaching staff and players, to former players, administrators and coaches who have made a long-lasting impact on the history of women’s cricket in Warwickshire.

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Paul Greetham, General Manager of Team Performance at Warwickshire, has led the project and was honoured to host today’s ceremony.

“It is an enormous privilege to stand here and introduce both today’s unveiling and some of the influential people that are in the room. This is certainly a special occasion, a special event for many and one that probably took too long to establish. But what you see in front of you has been a labour of love over the last few months and one which has certainly been triggered by the professionalisation and advent of tier one domestic cricket in 2025.

“We have worked hard to ensure the Honours Board is accurate, and reflects the impact of, to date, 237 women who have proudly represented this club, as well as those who were unable to in the West Midlands Women era of 1965-2000.”

Louise Campton, who formed part of the first Warwickshire Women’s squad after the turn of the millennium, said: “Warwickshire offers the chance for girls and women at all stages of their cricket journey to become involved in the game, which is truly amazing and, if I'm honest, it's not something I ever thought I would see in my lifetime.

“While this honours board may appear to be simply a list of names, each of those names represents an individual journey and a unique cricket story. What I believe this Honours Board stands for is opportunity. The opportunity to learn, to improve, to succeed, to make lifelong friends, and most importantly, the opportunity to play the game we all know and love.”

Women’s cricket in Warwickshire was in rude health during its formative years from 1937-1965, but in the 35 years which followed, women wanting to play cricket in the region had no option but to play for various sides around the region and earn the opportunity to represent West Midlands Women.

One of those women was Barbara Daniels, who represented Edgbaston and Wolverhampton Cricket Clubs, and went on to win the World Cup for England in 1993 during an eight-year spell playing for the national side.

“This board is really important to show the ups and downs of the women's game, and of women's sport, that has got us to here to a fully professional domestic cricket that we never, ever dreamt really would happen.

“It's incredible to see the current squad here, being able to do what you do and get paid for it and consider it a job. It's unbelievable, and we’re delighted for you. It's brilliant that this is happening because it means it's much more likely it will stay happening. What history shows us though, is what is here now doesn't always stay, and whilst we've got it at the minute, it's really important that we all fight to make sure this professional stuff stays and the rest of the pyramid underneath continues to thrive.”

The ceremony closed with current Bears’ captain Katie George expressing what it means to be a Bear, and the feeling within the squad of leaving the club in a better place than they found it.

“When I was asked me to say a few words, it got me thinking, what do bears do? Amongst other things, to me, they're strong, they're brave, they look after their own, they also hibernate in the winter, which is a little bit like us.

“Then that moved me on to thinking, what does the Bear represent? And to me, that's passed down from those that came before and then passed on to those that come after. It's caring about the club and our team more than ourselves, and it's about being brave and strong to keep the Bears in the best place.

“On this board are the names of hundreds of people who have lived those values and paved the way for us today. I think for us, as a current group of players, it's a great reminder of what it means to make the Bear proud. On the flip side, the empty space to the right reminds us that our job is to keep passing that on so that the names to come know exactly what it means to be a Bear.”