May 2020. This is Ananya Srinivasan after playing her first match as a u11 player for Gingins CC. She was the only girl in a team full of boys. She is holding her player of the match award, after taking a hat trick - in her first match ever. Cricket however had different plans for her as she gave up bowling to become a wicket-keeper. No one wanted to keep and she saw an opportunity for herself.
May 2023 - Ananya receiving her u13 Boys national team cap at Surrey. Continuing to sport Gingins CC colours, Ananya toured England with the u13 National team and did very well behind the stumps. As girls cricket was yet to evolve in Switzerland, she continued to be one of the boys, the only way to express her love for the sport. By now, the boys had accepted her as a peer as well.
May 2025 - The Gingins girl made her international debut, playing for the Swiss Women's National team in Belgium at the age of 16, making her friends and family proud.
While Ananya has now moved on to women's cricket, she can never forget her formative years at Gingins. She was welcomed, included and given her place in the team despite being a girl. She would never have made it this far without the early years support from her club. We look forward to other girls taking inspiration from her and carving out their own space in the cricketing world at one of the few institutions in Switzerland which focuses on the grassroots of the beautiful game.