In
some ways it was a shame that the conclusion was such a damp squib, with the
home side and reigning champions Australia destroying India by 85 runs. However,
Meg Lanning’s side had opened the competition in Sydney with defeat to Kaur, Mandhana,
Sharma et al, so such a one-sided finale was unexpected.
It
could have been England in their place, of course, had their semi-final not
been washed out, sending India through courtesy of a faultless group stage and
England’s loss to South Africa, and the latter were only narrowly beaten by
Australia on D/L in their own semi last week.. It bodes well that, barring that
joyous West Indies success a few years ago, the Australia-England duopoly has
been broken. As in the men’s game, most top nations must feel they are in with
a shout, especially in the shortest, more unpredictable formats. OK, so
Thailand were the inevitable fall-guys but they earned their right to be on the
main stage and did rack up 150-3 in the abandoned fixture against Pakistan.
Gender
equality in sport is also becoming reality, not merely fanciful words made by
ICC politicians. Credit to the Aussie men for insisting on the women taking
equal pay, and this summer’s Hundred tournament will also see parity in the men’s
and women’s prize money. I’m no fan of such ludicrous innovations but I applaud
the headlines accorded the signing of women stars like Beth Mooney as much as those
for Steve Smith.
One
problem remains UK media. Women’s tennis has enjoyed extensive coverage all my
life, with champions from King to Graf, Navratilova to the Williams sisters on
the same pedestal as Borg Becker and Nadal. It has never really mattered whether
Britain had any chance of winning Wimbledon. However, like football, rugby and
golf, this country’s editors and broadcasters have yet to demonstrate a genuine
appetite for women’s cricket unless England are doing well. Mind you, the same
could be said for men’s cricket, which only makes the TV sports news if England
win the Ashes or are in World Cup contention.
After
England unluckily slipped out of the T20 in Australia, you’d have thought the
tournament had turned out the lights and gone into self-isolation in the
company of two million toilet rolls. The final received not a mention. I
suspect India was less insular, and they featured some of the tournament’s
biggest stars, especially the sensationally fearless 16 year-old opening batter,
Shafali Verma. Unfortunately, like most of her team-mates, she froze on the big
occasion, while Mooney, Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt used their experience to
the max. Healy’s innings of 75 included one six of 83 metres, which would have
pleased the biggest hitters of the men’s
game. Perhaps it won’t be long before her partner Mitchell Starc will be
labelled Healy’s other half, rather than the other way around.
To
summarise, cricket has the means to propel women’s sport further into the global
mainstream, and not as some mere adjunct to an arbitrary construct like International
Women’s Day. The more nations take part, the wider the coverage will be. In
Britain, Knight, Shrubsole, Ecclestone and co need to narrow the gap with the
Aussies but elsewhere everything’s heading in the right direction. When
Australia finds young blood to step into the shoes of Lanning, Perry, Jonassen
and their immensely successful colleagues, England may shudder, it
won't be just Katy Perry but the women’s game generally giving a 'Roar' of
approval.
