Rebels host Essex Cricket as women prep for pro debut 

The county’s best women cricketers were bowled over by the Essex Rebels as they met for the first time in a ground-breaking partnership.

Essex Women visited the University of Essex last week ahead of their 2025 professional debut season – which will see them team up with the volleyball and basketball sides.

The newly formed elite team will use the Colchester Campus as a training base for Essex Cricket, with the Rebels sharing knowledge gained over seven years of professionalism – boosting women’s sport across the county.

As part of the day basketball captain and Great Britain international Claire Paxton gave the cricketers a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities – including the elite performance analysis suite.

Then the bowlers and batters  took to the court of the Essex Arena where they learned how to shoot and serve from top basketball and volleyball stars.

The athletes also visited the University’s top tier gym facilities and the cricket team had front row seats for the volleyball training.

The Essex Rebels heralded the event as success.

'Fantastic day'

“It was a fantastic day welcoming Essex Cricket to the University of Essex and seeing players from all three sports come together,” said Diana Voynova, Essex Rebels Manager.

“This collaboration marks an exciting step forward, and we look forward to building on this partnership in the months to come.”

The cricket squad were led by Team Director Andy Tennant and Performance Director Danni Warren.

“The facilities at the University are  fantastic,” said Tennant. “It’s great to have a partnership with the University, and I think it gives us a bit of a competitive edge moving forward.
“We’re really excited to be part of this partnership and speaking to the basketball and volleyball coaches – just chewing the fat, it’s been brilliant.

“Understanding what they do from a performance analysis point of view, especially with match-ups, is really useful, so we’re just excited to get going.”