Madelene shares cricket joy

SINCE discovering cricket for the first time last year, Madelene Ylen has been an asset on Glen Alvie Cricket Club’s women’s team.

Originally from Sweden, Madelene came to Australia on a working holiday visa in 2013 and is now a citizen.

Starting out in Sydney, Madelene fell in love with Melbourne and was eventually transferred to Victoria.

Since then, she met her partner Jackson, moved to Dalyston in May last year and has been raising infant twins.

Despite her busy lifestyle, she found time to discover a passion for cricket.

“My partner Jackson plays for the Dalyston Football Netball Club and he overheard Gaby (Hynes, coach of Glen Alvie’s women’s team) talking about cricket at the footy ground,” Madelene said.

“I barely knew the sport, but Gaby was really friendly and assured me the club would help me take care of the twins. I thought, why not? Let’s give it a go.”

Madelene’s previous sporting experience included soccer and floorball.

At first, she found the rules of cricket very technical and had to adjust to the motions but has enjoyed every moment of picking up a new sport.

“One of the big reasons I really enjoy it is because we have such a good team.

There’s never been an issue with me bringing Hunter and Millie, and everyone is always really excited to see them,” Madelene said.

“I’ve also enjoyed getting better each week. Hitting my first four during the doubleheader was a milestone. I’d been smashing ones and twos, but it’s really exciting when you get that boundary.”

One of the obstacles Madelene has had to overcome is nerves.

“I can get a bit in my head when I miss a ball. The best thing to do is take every ball for what it is. It doesn’t matter what you did last ball, there’s a new one coming. I was getting a bit down on myself and I had to overcome that,” she said.

Madelene had become instrumental in the success of Glen Alvie’s women’s team in the 2025/26 season.

She credits her development to extra training opportunities with Jackson.

“I had no expectations, but I am a fighter and I’m very competitive,” she said.

“I trained with Jackson to improve, because I really wanted to make an impact and be a strong team player. He gave me some great pointers. I feel like I had a good coach in Gaby and a second coach in Jackson.”

Madelene said it was exciting to see the growth of women’s sport in Australia since her arrival in 2013.

“When I first moved to Australia, I was interested in learning Australian Rules Football. I reached out to a few teams, but there wasn’t much around. It has grown so much over the last 13 years,” she said.

“I’ve seen more young kids being excited because they can see their role models.

With cricket, we have a good area in the country where everyone gets involved, but there’s still lots of growing to be done. It still feels like women get the second choice in terms of grounds and availability, but it is amazing to see how in the last 13 years sport for women has grown.”

Off the ground, Madelene has been keeping up with the cricket on TV, becoming a Melbourne Stars fan.

Glen Alvie’s women’s cricket team finished fourth on the ladder following the completion of the home and away season on Sunday, earning a place in the finals.

Madelene is looking forward to competing in the finals and seeing the team perform its best in future games.