Women's cricket in Bermuda is getting a breath of fresh air come April.

That's when the five-team Bermuda Women's Cricket League (BWCL) get rolling for their inaugural season which is expected to last three months.

The venture is the brainchild of bus driver Victoria Caisey who gathered some of her female workmates for a series of friendly matches against other Government departments last year.

Following the success and enjoyment of these games, she and some friends decided to organise a league format for women's cricket this year, involving five teams from various sections of the Government Service.

"The atmosphere was almost like a mini-county game. Lots of people came. We had great support from our fellow workers.

"We also had on our whites just like when the men play cricket. As you know, for us females the quality of cricket is not as strong as the men so it was a lot of fun to watch us bowling and batting.

"We're in it for the fun. We're not looking to get into anything serious. What happens when you branch out is that you get people who become very competitive and that's not what we're looking for.

"We want to have a good laugh. It was excellent last year and it brought us together with our colleagues," explained BWCL vice-president Lisa Wilson.

The league will be made up of five teams: bus drivers, Corrections, the Post Office, Customs and a combined Police/Fire service side.

While they insist this is strictly for fun and recreation, league organisers stipulate that only female employees of these departments are eligible to play as they want to keep a tight rein on matters.

"No, we're not allowing guest players but eventually I would like to see women's cricket go further, even into the schools. If other companies or teams want to join, maybe in the next two years, I'd love to see that.

"It would be great if we can go overseas and play against other women's cricket teams in the future," said Caisey of her hopes for the fairer sex in the sport.

The league gets underway on April 3 with the opening fixture being Corrections versus Customs. It runs until July 11 with teams playing each other twice in 40-over matches.

Both she and Wilson are amazed by the "very enthusiastic response" which the initiative has generated and they are eagerly looking forward to the start.

"I was very surprised by the number of women who were interested in this. The experience last year was just awesome and we can't wait to get going," said Wilson.

The BWCL plan to have a championship shield which will be engraved with the winning team's name annually.