Australia's most talented emerging female cricketers including several with WNCL and Weber WBBL experience will gather in Brisbane this week for the Cricket Australia Under-19 Female National Championships.

After the inaugural U19 Women's World Cup in January this year, the next campaign isn't until 2025 to be hosted by Malaysia and Thailand, but there will still be plenty of young players with their eyes on that tournament.

This tournament will see the inclusion of a squad from Papua New Guinea for the first time, which will be made up of seven under-19 player and seven under-23 women.

A selection of the best players also recently took part in September's U19 Lanning vs. Perry Series that consisted of three T20s and one 40-over match across a four-day development camp.

When does it start?

The National Championships begin on Thursday, December 14 and culminates with the Final on Thursday, December 21.

What's the schedule?

The ten sides are split into two pools, with each team playing the four other teams in their pool over the first four days, before the top two from each pool proceed to the semi-finals.

Pool A: New South Wales Metro, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory

 

Pool B: New South Wales Country, Victoria Metro, Victoria Country, Tasmania, Papua New Guinea

The first four matches across the first two days of the carnival will be 20-over fixtures, with the remaining two pool matches on Sunday and Monday, and finals, played as 50-over one-day matches. View the full schedule here.

How can I watch?

All matches will be live streamed on FrogBox and can be accessed through the PlayCricket app (under the Cricket Australia State Competitions) or through the Cricket Australia YouTube channel.

For those in Brisbane, all matches are open to the public and will be played across multiple venues with the Final to be played at Allan Border Field.

How else can I follow?

All fixtures and ladders can be accessed online here or through the PlayCricket app. And keep an eye on the PlayCricket social media channels for all the best highlights and performances.

Players to watch

Chloe Ainsworth (WA)

Ainsworth earned her maiden WBBL contract with the Perth Scorchers after impressing for Western Australia in the Women's National Cricket League.

The young fast bowler was part of Australia's Under-19 team that travelled to South Africa at the start of the year but unfortunately had to return home after breaking her thumb.

Maggie Clark (SA)

Clark is a highly rated medium pace bowler with the rare ability to swing the ball both ways.

Hailing from Mannanarie in regional South Australia, Clark was the youngest player selected in Australia's squad to travel to South Africa for the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup.

Clark had a standout tournament with the ball taking 12 wickets at an incredible average of 7.42.

Milly Illingworth (VIC Country)

Already one of the fastest bowlers in the country, Illingworth burst onto the scene for the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL clocking speeds up to 120kph.

Illingworth's also impressed in her WNCL debut for Victoria taking 4-41.

Sara Kennedy (VIC Country)

Kennedy made her WBBL debut for the Melbourne Renegades as just a 16-year-old. The left-armer played 11 matches in her debut season and will be one to look out for ahead of the 2025 U19 World Cup.

Kate Pelle (NSW Metro)

Called into the Sydney Sixers side after Alyssa Healy was injured and settled into the Sixers side playing 14 matches.  

Pelle was also part of Australia's 2023 U19 World Cup squad, with her best performance coming against the UAE where she was named player of the match for her 51 from 36 deliveries.

Team to beat?

NSW Metro will be out to defend their crown after winning in the previous edition as well as claiming the Under-16 National Championships in 2022-23.

Victoria Country were finalists last year, and with multiple players with professional cricket experience, they will be after redemption this season.

The squads

ACT: Paris Bowdler, Rachel Carroll, Brie Dillion, Vivien Field, Alana Horsfall, Amy Hunter, Elizabeth Johnson, Grace Lyons, Chloe McGann, Alessia Montefiore-Gardner, Jiya Patel, Amber Smith, Charlotte Waring, Stella Wilde

NSW Country: Kiesha Baldwin, Callee Black, Caoimhe Bray, Olivia Callaghan, Sienna Eve, Tara French, Eliza Henry, Emily Humphreys, Kinjal Kumari, Delaney Laffy, Kate McTaggart, Samira Mitchell, Ava Ryan

NSW Metro: Ella Briscoe, Sara Chun, Lucy Finn, Elsa Hunter, Lauren Kua, Alexandra Mavros, Juliette Morton, Zoe Murdoch, Frankie Nicklin, Kate Pelle, Eva Ragg, Lucy Wilson, Hayley Zauch

Queensland: Grace Abdy, Lily Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Berry, Trinity Doyle, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Lilli Hamilton, Holly Hogan, Darcey Johnson, Felicity Koch, Tarah Staines, Taylor Stumer, Naiya Varidel

South Australia: Iggy Bansal, Maggie Clark, Madeline Fielke, Emmerson Filsell, Nicole Hobbs, Tahlia Keylock, Eleanor Larosa, Matilda Maitland, Ilona Melegh, Indira Panelli, Chloe Rosenzweig, Dia Shah, Harriet Tyrer, Elizabeth Worthley

Papua New Guinea: Henao Thomas (c), Boio Vare, Brenda Elly, Buruka Vicky, Dika Lohia, Duna Alex Paliau, Erani Pokana, Esther Vagi, Gabe Thomas, Initia Vagi, Kevau Frank, Lakshmi Kila Rajadurai, Mahuta Jayphert, Margaret Wari

Tasmania: Mia Barwick, Taylor Brooks, Chloe Casey, Ava Curtis, Sophia Di Venuto, Talia Heyward, Beth Lane, Shelby Leonard, Jessica Ransley, Maggie Rogers, Josie Rose, Kate Sherriff, Amy Smith, Matilda Waddington

Victoria Country: Sara Burns, Aanliya Cheeran, Tia Davidge, Poppy Gardner, Hasrat Gill, Millie Illingworth, Sara Kennedy, Bronte Leishman, Charli McLennan, Grace Moyle, Indigo Noble, Matilda Pendergast, Yashoda Senarathne, Ribhya Syan

Victoria Metro: Ira Aery, Chloe Blacker, Ruby Cullinan, Samara Dulvin, Amelie Gladman, Amanpreet Kaur, Vaishnavi Munukulta, Amelie O’Meara, Lucy Page, Mia Perrin, Sarnsiree Plant, Tegan Rule, Zoe Samuel, Isabel White

Western Australia: Chloe Ainsworth, Chloe Bartholomew, Tene Crafford, Ella Dodgson, Shayna Jesani, Natasha Kelsey, Shay Manolini, Rebecca McGrath, Ines McKeon, Olivia McSweeney, Morgan Pires, Matilda Richings, Tegan Williamson