AMBITIOUS Marburg-bred cricketer Trinity Doyle will have a highly-respected ally assisting her in expanded Ipswich Hornets roles next season.
Trinity, 17, is one of the Hornets’ most exciting prospects having been selected in Queensland under-19 and under-16 teams.
She captained last season’s Hornets First Grade side in a major development phase for the club.
Preparing for a new Queensland Premier competition, Trinity has taken on added responsibility working with the Hornets Paul Pink (under 16) side and as Girls Development Officer.
“Cricket has been really kind to me and I want to give back to the community and what I’ve got out of it,” Trinity said.
However, the year 12 West Moreton Anglican College (WestMAC) student won’t take the extra workload on her own.
She appreciates the mentoring support of her dad Andrew, who was one of Marburg’s top allrounders before turning his attention to the Hornets five years ago.
“It’s definitely a juggle with everything but I like the challenge and I like taking everything on board,” Trinity said.
The Haigslea-based father and daughter team will help foster the development pathway from school cricket to SEQ teams and into Hornets junior sides building towards senior opportunities.
For Trinity, that includes helping young regional female club cricketers transition into the higher-level Hornets program.
Andrew, who teaches HPE, Sport and Recreational Studies at WestMAC, enjoys being part of the Hornets development team.
“I’m in there for the next few years just to mentor her through being young,” Andrew said.
“It gives her that bit of experience and just puts the icing on the cake pretty much, just to finalise the things and oversee and make sure she’s pushing in the right direction.”
Andrew has more than 20 years playing experience with Marburg (1996-2000 and 2002-03), Colleges Crossing (2004-06), Centrals (2006-10) and Eastern Taipans (2012-17).
He scored 1970 first division runs and took 158 first grade wickets.
He has made a 25-year contribution to the sport as a Level 1-3 Community coach.
Andrew was also recently appointed Head of Coaching and chairman of selectors for the Thunder Cricket Club formed in Marburg.
That goes with his ongoing roles as Hornets women’s assistant and skills coach, SEQ Girls Junior Director of Coaching and Met West Pathway coach and manager.
He also coaches boys and girls cricket teams at WestMAC.
Trinity’s passion for cricket came from Andrew.
The proud dad followed in the footsteps of his father Allan, a life member and former coach of the Thunder club.
Trinity plans to play in the 2024-25 season, working with new Hornets Firsts team coach Darren Koch and last year’s grand final-winning Second Grade mentor Zach McAlloon.
Lars deBrier will continue coaching the Hornets Third Grade women, which just missed last season’s finals.
The Hornets’ Paul Pink (under 16) girls’ team, which also won last season’s competition, feeds into the Ipswich club’s First, Second and Third Grade sides.
Trinity, a top order batter and left-arm medium fast bowler, welcomes the increased professionalism and growth in women’s cricket.
She grew up in Marburg before being invited to the Hornets in 2021.
In her final year at WestMAC, Trinity is also preparing to make the Queensland Schoolgirls’ team in August.
Apart from being a former first-grade premiership-winning cricketer, Andrew previously performed similar commitments to what Trinity has taken on.
“This sort of role, Brett Schmidt and I did for three or four years,” Andrew said.
“When Trinity and the other girls were coming through, we sort of started this and brought it through. So this is like her taking over.
“We felt, probably in the last few years, there needed to be more work done in that space to get those younger girls ready for cricket.
“So we saw this as an opportunity for Trinity to learn some of those roles.”
Trinity’s teammate Erin Moran was among the latest Hornets female players to be chosen in the Queensland Cricket Academy for specialized training.
“It was pretty exciting to see Hornets producing players and it’s really cool to see them go on to bigger and better things,” Trinity said.