Women's Cricket goes from strength to strength

It was pleasing to read about the success of the Women’s T20 World Cup in the last few weeks. It culminated in a final played at the MCG in front of 86,000 spectators, and they hadn’t turned up just to see Katy Perry perform. The tournament had  already served up plenty of ‘Fireworks’ across Australia.

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.

England Clinch Women’s World Cup

England and India served up a rollercoaster final at Lord’s to round off an excellent World Cup tournament, but it was Heather Knight’s side who held their nerve to win the trophy they last held aloft in 2009.

It was a cagey but solid start for England. Openers Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont added 47 before Gayakwad bowled the former round her legs. Beaumont was the competition’s highest run scorer but she fell to Poonam Yadav for just 23 and when the same bowler trapped skipper Knight lbw for a single, the home team were looking shaky. Enter Nat Sciver to join forces with Sarah Taylor. Their stand of 83 in 16 overs steadied the ship but the veteran medium-pacer Jhulan Goswani produced excellent figures of 3-23 to turn things back in India’s favour. The late order couldn’t quite strike the boundaries they wanted but Brunt and Gunn managed to nudge the total to an acceptable 228-7.

Anya Shubsole struck an early blow in the second over, swinging in a beauty to send Mandhana’s middle stump flying. Raj and Raut played sensibly, but when Harmanpreet Kaur began to punish the bad ball with a couple of sixes, I reckon India fancied their chances. After all, they had dealt England a blow in their first group match and their confidence must have been high following the surprise thumping of Australia in the semis. Kaur had peppered the deep mid-wicket boundary in her incredible 171 not out but she fell just after reaching her third successive fifty.

Krishnamurthy joined Raut and found the gaps to maintain the required run rate. At 191-3 with more than 7 overs remaining, Hartley and Shrubsole were beginning to falter. However, in ten crazy minutes, the same pair turned the match on its head, capturing four wickets in 13 balls. And yet, on 201-7, there were still only 19 runs needed. There was the added issue of the weather. Rain clouds were hovering menacingly, with some light drizzle, and India were ahead on Duckworth-Lewis.

Pandey was athletically run out by the ever-brilliant ‘keeper Taylor, then Sharma, who had plundered 14 from twelve deliveries, mistimed a hoik and Nat Sciver completed a second skying catch. Eleven to win, eleven balls  and one wicket left, and Shrubsole already with five wickets. A few balls later, Gayakwad could only scoop Anya tamely to mid-off Gunn – who promptly dropped it! Had she dropped the World Cup? The Somerset legend ran in again and this time hit the stumps! England had won an enthralling final!

It had been an eye-opening tournament throughout. I’d never seen such high scores. Not only Kaur’s semi-final masterpiece but also Sarah Taylor’s 147 in 104 balls against Pakistan and Beaumont’s 148 in the same innings. Their stand of 275 was the second highest in women’s ODI history. Sri Lanka and Australia had produced another high-scoring group fixture at Bristol, where Chamara Atapattu’s 178 not out was eventually trumped by Meg Lanning’s superb 152 not out.

The whole tournament had been another great advert for women’s cricket. Compared with the men’s game, the boundaries may be shorter, the bowling slower and batting less muscular. However, there is just as much skill, commitment and excitement. And instead of the snarling, sniping aggression that has become a staple of men’s cricket, you have the winning smile and on-field exuberance of Sarah Taylor. What’s not to love?! Her twelve-month rest from the sport has been bad for England, and her return has been as important in their run to the World Cup triumph as any other factor. Let’s hope she maintains her enthusiasm for the game, and England will be looking to take title number five next time around.

Women’s Cricket Deserves Centre Stage

There were many reasons why August Bank Holiday in Cardiff was so enjoyable. Firstly, it actually refrained from raining between 10am and 6pm. Secondly, the T20 double-header provided twice the entertainment value that I expected.

I rarely glean much satisfaction from watching a Twenty20 match. Too much biff-bang, little finesse and despite the paucity of balls bowled, there’s no guarantee of an exciting finish. However, if there’s an opportunity of watching two matches in succession, I can be persuaded!

Monday was just such an occasion. The headlines focussed on the men’s game. They enjoyed the full house, the patriotic, vociferous support (maybe not from the few Welsh locals, of whom I am an honourable member!) and the enthralling climax. There were Eoin Morgan’s seven sixes, a beautiful innings from Moeen Ali, Steve Smith’s excellently paced 90 and the thrilling catch by Ben Stokes which turned the game England’s way. There was also the unfortunate dismissal of Shane Watson which not only stirred the derision of the crowd but also hilarity of his own bench upon the repeat showing on the big screen later on. I know because I was sitting close to the Aussies. Even Darren Lehmann was laughing heartily!

However, to concentrate on the men’s one-off fixture would do the women’s game a gross injustice. I hadn’t bought my ticket just to see Hales, Watson, Buttler, Starc and co. I was intrigued by the prospect of watching first-hand the newly-professionalised Women’s teams doing battle for their version of the Ashes. While a batting collapse at Hove a few days earlier had rendered the Cardiff tie redundant as an Ashes decider, there was still much to play for.

I’d familiarised myself with the leading players with a few snippets of gams in the past year or two so I was keenly awaiting the chance to see global stars such as England’s skipper Charlotte Edwards, her Aussie counterpart Meg Lanning, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry and our own wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, my new favourite cricketer!

It was interesting to compare the two games. Of course the men’s game provided more power, pace and sixes. However, the opener featured no less skill and was played in great spirit. One reason I like watching Sarah Taylor is her enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of playing. Something the men should remember from time to time.

Two performances stood out. Anya Shrubsole ripped out the first four Aussie wickets, including the ever-dangerous Lanning and newcomer Jess Jonassen. Perry stuck around for 16 before becoming one of Natalie Scriver’s four victims. Grace Harris struck a few sixes but 111 didn’t look a formidable total. Nevertheless, England had failed to reach even 90 in the previous T20, so anything was possible, especially when Edwards, Wyatt and Taylor were all gone by the fourth over.

Enter Scriver once more. She steadied the ship, put on 55 with Katherine Brunt and was run out with only six needed. Lydia Greenway did the rest and victory came in the nineteenth over. A wonderful all-round display from Sciver but I was mightily impressed by all the bowlers and in particular the fielding, every bit as smart as the men’s.

The awards and celebrations were a bit muted. Maybe it was because the Aussies had done most of their champagne cork-popping at Hove. However, most of the players on both sides were happy to sign autographs and pose for selfies afterwards. These weren’t the big strapping selfish sports stars we have become familiar with. They were young ‘normal’ athletes keen to build a rapport with the fans, and they seemed genuinely pleased to do so.

I sincerely hope that women’s cricket continues to grow and attract not only TV audiences but also youngsters willing to pick up a ball and bat. From what I experienced at Cardiff on and off the field, they are going about it in the right way. Those who couldn’t be bothered to turn up in the morning at the SSE Swalec missed a real treat.