Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Scotland fast bowler Gabriella Fontenla joined Yorkshire’s Academy over the winter and could face England at Headingley in the T20 World Cup later this month.
There will be plenty of Yorkshire interest in the forthcoming women’s T20 World Cup, with first-team stars Sterre Kalis and Rachel Slater representing Netherlands and Scotland respectively. But, flying under the radar somewhat has been the inclusion of White Rose Academy fast bowler Gabriella Fontenla in the Scotland squad.
Make no mistake, Fontenla, who turned 18 yesterday, is one to watch. There is significant excitement within the Headingley coaching staff with regards to her capabilities.
Signed during the winter, she is yet to make her senior White Rose debut, though could soon be facing up against England under the Headingley lights in a blockbuster group on the evening of Saturday June 20.
“She’s high 60s in terms of her speed,” said Yorkshire’s women’s lead Academy coach Jared Warner. “We’ve clocked her at 69mph, which is exciting.
“She’s got raw pace, swings the ball away nicely and is a very good athlete. So she’s been a nice pick-up for us.
“I’m over the moon that we’ve been able to get her. She’s got a very high ceiling, and to be selected in a World Cup squad at 18 is great news for her.”
Other Tier 1 counties showed an interest in the Edinburgh-born quick, who chose to join Yorkshire and combine University studies in Leeds from September onwards.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jared Warner, The Yorkshire women’s lead Academy coach.
Fontenla is currently involved in a warm-up T20I tri-series in her home city involving Scotland, the Netherlands and Bangladesh. On Saturday, in a win for the Scots over Bangladesh, she took the new ball and returned a superb 1-11 from four overs. The Scots have played three, won two so far. Fontenla has played in them all.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Yorkshire head coach Rich Pyrah, of her progress. “She’s an exciting prospect, a quick bowler with a lot of natural attributes.
“She’s getting fast-tracked with Scotland, and what an experience it will be for her to go to a World Cup. It’s great for her development.
“It’s exciting to see.
“Underneath the senior group, we’re starting to get some really talented bowlers pushing through.
“Gabriella is one, Lucy Randle-Bissell is another who has kicked on and is getting wickets this year and Holly Garton as well. She’s added strength and depth to our spin department.
“It shows that the Academy is working exactly how we want.”
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Gabriella Fontenla returned 1-11 from four overs in a tri-series win over Bangladesh at the weekend, picking up the player-of-the-match award.
On Fontenla, Warner continued: “She’s not actually played that much cricket over the last couple of years, through injury and some illness. So she’s still got a lot to learn.
“But what an opportunity for her to go to a World Cup. Being in that environment and around the players she’s going to be mixing with, it’s going to accelerate her development massively. It’ll be really interesting to see how it goes.
“I don’t think she’ll be too far away from first-team cricket here. We’ll just have to see. We don’t need to rush it. As I said, she’s not played too much cricket. We just need to get some games and performances under her belt.”
More generally below first-team level, Warner is extremely encouraged by what he has seen across the first two months of the summer.
He added: “We’ve got quite a young team in the Academy. We’ve played quite a lot of cricket already, which is good. There’s also been some second-team matches as well.
“We’ve played against some good sides and have had some challenging games.
“We’ve obviously had Ines Blackwell playing first-team cricket as well, Holly Garton too. Amelia Oliver went to Australia with the Under 19s right at the start of the summer.
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Yorkshire’s management are very excited about the development of Gabriella Fontenla.
“There’s been some great individual performances. Lucy Randle-Bissell is another. So, yeah, we’ve got some really good players.
“We’ve got a lot of 17-year-olds in that Academy, and we’re playing teams who are a bit older and they’re holding their own. Long-term, it’s great for their development.
“We’ve just got to be patient.
“That’s what we’re telling ourselves at the minute – be patient and back what we’re doing.”
Scotland’s women play two T20 World Cup matches at Headingley. They face West Indies under lights on Thursday June 18 (6.30pm) before tackling hosts England two days later.
During the afternoon of Wednesday June 17, Kalis’s Netherlands face India at the same venue (2.30pm) as part of a double header day with Australia’s women, who face Bangladesh from 10.30am.
The fifth and final group stage fixture at Headingley sees the Aussies face Pakistan under lights – 6.30pm – on Tuesday June 23.