NAMIBIAN ladies cricket received a massive boost through a sponsorship of N$90 000 from Bank Windhoek yesterday.

The bank recently formed a partnership with Cricket Namibia (CN) aimed at enhancing the sport code for females in the country.

The sponsorship is primarily for hosting this year's Namibia Ladies Cricket League which starts later this month.

"Bank Windhoek's sponsorship is not only to encourage personal growth, but also sportsmanship and team work, in pursuit of reaching a common goal amongst female cricket players, said Marlize Horn, Bank Windhoek's Senior Marketing and Corporate Communications manager.

Horn said the involvement of women in sports all over the world, is vital to the growth of any sport code, and that the trend is growing rapidly.

"Without support, for young girls and women, reaching the levels of excellence in their chosen sport becomes an obstacle, especially in sports like cricket, and sooner or later players abandon their dreams", she said. According to CN president, Francois Erasmus, a recent national survey into the sport indicated a rise in the level of interest by females, hence the organisation deemed it necessary to source financial support to expand the sport code.

"There has been a growth in the interest by girls and women due to awareness of the game, and cricket becoming more accessible to them," he said

"We hope that female cricket will grow.

"With the sponsorship from Bank Windhoek, Cricket Namibia will be able to further promote the game."

He added that his association was also in the process of getting the women's national side to compete for an ICC Women's World Cup spot.

"We will do our best to get the team enrolled to compete in the World Cup qualifiers in Kenya. This will be a great opportunity for our players,"said Erasmus.