Winner and runners-up of the MCC Young Female Broadcaster competition celebrated at Lord's during the first-ever Women's Test match held at the Ground.
MCC, Take Her Lead and Sky are delighted to announce the winner and runners-up of the MCC Young Female Broadcaster competition 2026.
Now in its third year, the competition, supported by Sky Sports and leading cricket charity Take Her Lead, aims to increase opportunities for young women building a career in sports broadcasting, whilst uncovering and supporting the next generation of female broadcasting talent in cricket. There could be no more fitting stage for this year's celebration than the first ever Women’s Test match at Lord's, which is rewriting the record books for the women's game.
2026 represents a huge summer for women’s cricket. Lord’s has already staged four matches in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this year and hosted a record crowd of over 28,000 for the Final. That momentum has carried into this week, with around 35,000 expected at Lord’s across the four days of the England v India Rothesay Test, making it the biggest crowd for a women’s Test match in the UK. In total, Lord’s will stage 21 women’s fixtures during 2026, spanning international cricket, domestic competitions and pathway finals.
Progress off the field has also continued. The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) reports that women now make up 25% of students enrolled on accredited sports journalism courses, meeting its target for female representation for the 2025/26 period. But there is still more to do. The NCTJ's next ambition is equal representation in sports journalism training and across industry newsrooms, recognising that a more diverse and inclusive environment is essential to the future of the industry. This competition aims to support that mission.
The competition received 50 entries this year - its highest yet. The judging panel, including Sky Sports Director of Cricket & NFL Bryan Henderson, Take Her Lead founder and broadcaster Isa Guha, MCC Chief Marketing Officer, Katie Maier, commentator and broadcaster, Georgie Heath, and journalist and broadcaster, Alison Mitchell, were hugely impressed by the standard of the showreel submissions and selected Rosa Simkin as the winner.
Rosa Simkin is an 18-year-old journalism student at Cardiff University, originally from Warwickshire. Her love of cricket began at the age of nine, when her older sibling Mae first took her to Edgbaston to watch Warwickshire. It didn't take long before she fell in love with the game.
Rosa has been covering cricket since the age of 16, having launched her platform, Rosa Talks Ball, while still at school. She hosts and produces the weekly Two Tiers Deep Podcast alongside current Northamptonshire player Chloe Hill, exploring every level of the women's game, and is the founding editor of TIERED, the first monthly magazine dedicated to women's county cricket.
A regular contributor to digital platforms, radio stations and podcasts across the game, Rosa is passionate about telling the stories that really matter in cricket and broadening coverage of the sport, particularly within the women's game. She’s excited to see how winning the competition helps drive her continued development as a broadcaster, while championing the next generation of cricket journalism.
MCC is also delighted to announce the shortlisted runners-up: Shruthi Arun Kirthika, Sierra Jeh, Ellie Scarlett Smith, Sarah Muraj, Maithreyi Sadashiv Iyer and Aminah Jasmine Rahman.
Rosa and the runners-up were invited to Lord's today, Saturday 11 July for a special celebration day on Day Two of the historic Test. The group toured Lord's, including the Pavilion and the iconic Barclays Media Centre, with a behind-the-scenes look at the Sky Sports commentary box and the BBC Test Match Special box, learning how live broadcast production operates. They also visited the Committee Room, where they were greeted by MCC Chair Mark Nicholas.
The group spent time with the Take Her Lead team, including a meet and greet with founder and broadcaster Isa Guha and previous winner Helen Trappelides, gaining valuable insight into the broadcasting world and the chance to ask questions. They also met and learned from some of
the industry's best broadcasters, including Eleanor Oldroyd, Georgie Heath and Alison Mitchell. The group will spend time with Alison again at the later date, taking part in a broadcasting workshop.
As the winner of the competition, Rosa also took part in a live interview on Sky Sports with Nick Knight live from the historic Test to announce her as winner, before heading to the President's Suite with her family to enjoy the game.
Rosa will return to Lord's for her prize: an unrivalled opportunity to join the Sky Sports team for their live broadcast coverage at The Hundred Final on Sunday 16 August 2026.
Rosa said: "Winning the MCC Young Female Broadcaster competition is an incredible honour. I heard I’d won while watching a T20 women’s game at Edgbaston with my family. What better place to hear such amazing news than where it all began!
“Cricket has given me so many opportunities over the past few years and I'm determined to use this award to tell the stories that deserve to be heard while supporting the continued growth of the game. I want to help ensure that cricket is covered in a way that reflects the diversity, talent and depth of the sport, particularly within the women's game. I'm excited to have this amazing opportunity to learn from the best broadcasters in the industry and continue my growth as a journalist and broadcaster.”
Katie Maier, Chief Marketing Officer at MCC, said: "This summer, Lord's has written a new chapter in the history of women's cricket, and it's been a privilege to welcome the next generation of female broadcasters to be part of telling that story. Rosa and our runners-up have shown real talent and dedication. We're proud to keep championing the next generation of broadcasting talent, and we can't wait to see where Rosa's career takes her next.”
Isa Guha, Founder of Take Her Lead, added: "At Take Her Lead, we believe in the power of female voices to shape narratives, challenge perspectives, and inspire change. Initiatives like this show exactly what that means. Rosa and the runners-up have already shown incredible drive and talent and giving them the chance to learn from experienced broadcasters, ask questions and build relationships within the industry is invaluable. We're looking forward to continuing to support young women in sports media and broadcasting through mentoring and further opportunities. It is wonderful seeing the next generation of female voices in cricket continue to grow."
Bryan Henderson, Director of Cricket at Sky Sports, said, "It's been fantastic to welcome Rosa and the runners-up to Lord's for such a historic occasion. The standard of talent in this competition keeps getting stronger every year, and Rosa's passion for telling the stories of the women's game really came through. We're looking forward to welcoming her to join our team at The Hundred Final in August, and we're grateful to MCC and Take Her Lead for their continued partnership on a competition that's making a real difference."
