WBBL02 Preview

This weekend is the opening weekend of WBBL02.

Here are the opening fixtures, with our view on who might win, and then a run down on all the sides taking part, including full squad details, plus where we think they will finish in the league. Remember the top four in the league go through to the semi-finals, but there are 56 league games to be played in the next six weeks before then...

Fixtures

10^th December
Hurricanes v Scorchers – Hurricanes to win
Strikers v Renegades - Strikers to win
Thunder v Stars - Thunder to win

11^th December
Renegades v Strikers - Strikers to win
Scorchers v Hurricanes - Hurricanes to win
Sixers v Heat - Sixers to win

Adelaide Strikers
Megan Schutt, Sarah Coyte,  (Southern Stars)

Sophie Devine, Charlotte Edwards, Tammy Beaumont (Overseas)

Amanda Wellington, Tahlia McGrath, Sarah Elliott, Shelley Nitschke, Tegan McPharlin © (wk), Bridget Patterson, Alex Price, Samantha Betts, Tabatha Saville, Katelyn Pope

It looks like the Strikers are going to rely on their overseas players, Devine, Edwards and Beaumont, to get runs on the board, perhaps batting around the immoveable object that is Sarah Elliott. Beaumont scored a lot of international runs in 2016, but had a rather lacklustre KSL campaign with the Surrey Stars, as did Edwards with the Southern Vipers, and Devine with Loughborough Lightning. Quick runs could be a struggle for this line-up.
Amanda Wellington and Megan Schutt may bear the brunt of the responsibility with the ball, with Coyte, McGrath, Devine and Alex Price all required to pitch in.
This looks like a team that could well lose as many as they win. 

WCB forecast - 4^th
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Brisbane Heat

                                    Holly Ferling, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney (wk) (Southern Stars)

                                    Deandra Dottin, Smriti Mandhana (Overseas)

Delissa Kimmince ©, Jemma Barsby, Courtney Hill, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Kirby Short, Kara Sutherland, Laura Harris, Haidee Birkett, Georgia Prestwidge, Tess Cooper

A deliciously eclectic mix with runs possibly in short supply. It will be fascinating to see how well Smriti Mandhana goes in Australia. She hit a hundred against the Aussies back in February in Hobart, which suggests that quicker Aussie wickets may well suit her classical style of play, but she is not a T20 expert. Could this tournament be the making of her? There will be pressure on Beth Mooney to deliver runs on a regular basis, and Deandra Dottin will hope for a lot more runs than she scored in the KSL in August. Skipper Kimmince may need to bail out her top order if they are going to put many runs on the board.
Dottin’s forte in the KSL, and the T20 World Cup, was actually her bowling. She has a tendency to spear the ball down the legside, and on a bad day it’s bad, but she can also be a toe-crushing yorker machine, who can win matches. 

WCB forecast - 7^th
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Hobart Hurricanes

                                    Julie Hunter (Southern Star)
                                    Heather Knight ©, Hayley Matthews, Amy Satterthwaite (Overseas)

Katelyn Fryett, Veronica Pyke, Brooke Hepburn, Meg Phillips, Sasha Maloney, Emma Thompson, Erin Burns, Celester Raack, Corinne Hall, Georgia Redmayne, Erin Fazackerley

Last year’s surprise package, and I think they could be so again, although they look a little light on bowling. The three overseas players are all likely to bowl their 4 overs, as will the parsimonious Hunter. Brooke Hepburn had a great WNCL (if rather expensive at times) and there is always the evergreen Ronnie Pike.
With the bat Hayley Matthews will hope she improves on her first stint at the club and bats way better than she did in the KSL in England. If Amy Satterthwaite can maintain her stunning 2016 form with the bat then she may be the Hurricanes’ match-winner, under the leadership of the blossoming skipper, Heather Knight. 

WCB forecast - 3^rd
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Melbourne Renegades

                                    Grace Harris (Southern Star)

                                    Rachel Priest © wk, Danni Wyatt, Leah Tahuhu (Overseas)

Molly Strano, Sophie Molineaux, Kirsty Lamb, Kris Britt, Georgia Wareham, Maitlan Brown, Nicole Goodwin, Tayla Vlaeminck, Amy Yates, Annabel Sutherland, Natalie Plane

Renegades finished bottom of the table last year with just four wins in their 14 games. Eight of the 15 players in WBBL01 have gone, with the only established players brought in to strengthen the squad being Grace Harris and Leah Tahuhu. Kiwi Rachel Priest and England’s Danni Wyatt return, but it is difficult to see the Renegades finishing anywhere but bottom again. Harris may win some games on her own if she can get going with the bat, but this season could be another struggle.

WCB forecast - 8^th
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Melbourne Stars

                                    Meg Lanning ©, Jess Cameron, Kristen Beams (Southern Stars)

Morna Nielsen, Nat Sciver, Hayley Jensen, (Danielle Hazell – temp replacement for Beams) (Overseas)

Anna Lanning, Emma Inglis (wk), Emma Kearney, Kathleen Hempenstall, Katie Mack, Gemma Triscari, Kelly Applebee, Alana King, Lily Bardsley (wk)

It is incredibly difficult to look beyond Meg Lanning as being the make or break of this team, as she was last year. If she gets runs they will win. If she doesn’t they won’t. Nat Sciver could be a willing ally with the bat. She carried the Surrey Stars batting in the KSL, and seems to be maturing into a quality player.
With the ball the Stars will be without Kristen Beams for the start of their campaign due to injury (Dani Hazell steps in and will do a good job), but they lack wicket-takers. It would not surprise me to see Lanning bowling herself at some stage during the tournament.

WCB forecast - 5^th
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Perth Scorchers

                                    Nicole Bolton, Elyse Villani (Southern Stars)

Suzie Bates ©, Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, (Becky Grundy – temp replacement for Shrubsole) (Overseas)

Megan Banting (wk), Emma Biss, Piepa Cleary, Heather Graham, Emma King, Chloe Piparo, Mathilda Carmichael, Lauren Ebsary, Emily Smith (wk), Katie Hartshorn

Suzie Bates rejoins the Perth outfit after a great 2016 and as their new skipper. She proved in the KSL that she is a class act in this form of the game, both with bat and ball, and a great deal of Perth’s success could rest on how well she is playing. Western Fury, from whom most of these players hail, had a dismal WNCL, so confidence will not be high. The youngsters will be looking to Bolton, Villani, and Brunt, plus their skipper, to lead the way.

WCB forecast - 6^th
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Sydney Sixers

                                    Ellyse Perry ©, Alyssa Healy (wk) (Southern Stars)

                                    Marizanne Kapp, Sara McGlashan, Dane van Niekerk (Overseas)

Emily Leys, Lauren Smith, Lisa Sthalekar, Ashleigh Gardner, Rhiannon Dick, Sara Hungerford, Sarah Aley, Ange Reakes, Jodie Hicks, Haylee Hoffmesiter, Carly Leeson

Last year they made a horrendous start to the tournament, losing their first six games, but came back to win eight on the bounce and get through to the final. Only to be beaten there by their local rivals. Perry, Healy, Kapp, McGlashan and van Niekerk looks like a strong top-order batting line-up, but their bowling could let them down. The spin of van Niekerk, Sthalekar and Smith may pull them through, with seamers Kapp and Perry struggling a little of late.

WCB forecast - 2^nd
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Sydney Thunder

                                    Alex Blackwell ©, Rene Farrell, Erin Osborne (Southern Stars)

                                    Stafanie Taylor, Harmanpreet Kaur (Overseas)

Steff Daffara, Naomi Stalenberg, Mikayla Hinkley,  Lauren Cheatle, Nicola Carey, Belinda Vakarewa, Rachael Haynes, Claire Koski, Sam Bates, Maisy Gibson

Last year’s surprise champions, who, unsurprisingly, have made few changes to their line-up for WBBL02. The only new face is Indian import Harmanpreet Kaur – India’s new T20 captain. She joins the stunningly-talented returning Stafanie Taylor, as the overseas contingent for the Stars. They could be a formidable partnership. Add into the mix the experience of the Aussie national contingent – Blackwell, Farrell and Osborne - and they look like a side that could be hard to beat again. Lauren Cheatle will hope to be back to her best after missing cricket with illness and school exams. Last year she picked up 18 wickets and burst onto the international scene. Youngsters Nicola Carey and Maisy Gibson, may also have plenty to do with the ball.

WCB forecast - 1^st
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MD
07/XII/16

Aussies one step ahead again

The New South Wales Breakers, an Australian state cricket team, have announced that all their players will now earn the minimum wage in Australia of $35,000 (about £21,000) for playing in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) - Australia's state 50 over tournament. This appears to cover the entire 2016/2017 season, but that includes just six league games from 13th October until a possible seventh with the final on 3rd December.

The Breakers are the first women's state team to make this step up from being part-time players to being full-time professionals, thanks to increased sponsorship from Lendlease.

Since 2013 domestic players in Australia have been paid something to play for their state by Cricket Australia. Initially this was up to $7,000 out of a $100,000 allocation of funds from CA. In 2015 $7,000 became the minimum, and in 2016 this increased to a minimum of $11,000. With the additional money from Lendlease, NSW can now offer their domestic players the chance to be full-time professionals on a living wage.

In addition domestic players can also earn between $7,000 and $15,000 for playing in the WBBL, while Southern Stars contracted players are paid an additional $40,000 - $65,000. It means that top international players will now be earning over $100,000 from their cricket alone. NSW Breakers players who are not on Southern Stars's contracts, but do play in the WBBL will be earning between $42,000 and $50,000 per season. It seems inconceivable that the other five states and ACT will not follow NSW's example over the coming months, making the WNCL the first all professional women's 50 over league. That may not be this year, but almost certainly in 2017.

Compare this to the current situation in England where 19 players were awarded ECB central contracts at the end of January 2016. Two have subsequently retired from international cricket, Charlotte Edwards and Lydia Greenway, leaving just 17 contracted players. The ECB have never disclosed what these contracts are worth, but somewhere between £25,000 - £50,000 seems to be the general consensus. But beyond this elite group none of the other girls that play the game were paid, until the inaugural Kia Super League this season, when those who actually played a game (about 35 non-contracted players) were paid £150 per game, and, if they made the final, the squad players all shared in the prizemoney. The maximum any player was paid for the KSL was about £2,500. Those who played in all five league games will have received £750.

The ECB have declined to follow the Aussies and have not put sufficient funds into women's county cricket to make this a semi-professional stepping stone to international cricket. There is no semi-professional league where players can hone their skills before being thrust onto the international stage, or back to which, players who lose their central contracts, can fall. It seems that the ECB are pinning their hopes on extending the KSL to 50 over cricket, but, as predicted here in December last year, this will not happen in 2017.

The door is open for the ECB to make some significant investment in the top eight teams who will compete in Division One of the County Championship next year, but it seems they are not inclined to open that door. In fact it looks firmly shut. An extended KSL (home and away games - even this will not happen in 2017) is the right format for T20 cricket, but domestic players need a semi-professional 50 over league, and surely the existing county teams are the way forward with ECB backing, leadership and minimum standards for training and playing facilities? Without this England's talent pool will continue to dwindle and the Aussies will continue to dominate women's cricket.

MD
06/X/16

WBBL Shakedown

The ticker-tape has been cleared up and the MCG has fallen silent after the final of the inaugural WBBL reached an exciting, if rather unprofessional, conclusion on Sunday. It was the Thunder that returned to Sydney with the trophy, probably sharing a plane with their dejected Sixer opponents.

To be honest the final was not a great cricketing spectacle, but then finals often aren't! The Thunder contrived to drop simple catches, and fail to run out opponents who were at one time both on the ground in the middle of the wicket. The Sixers were equally as generous and misfields accounted for three of the Thunder's 10 boundaries. Without them it would have been a much tighter contest. It was therefore probably appropriate that the game finished with a leg-side wide, on which the batsmen ran a single, only to be gifted an overthrow by, of all people, Ellyse Perry, as she fired at the stumps at the bowler's end from two yards away and missed.

But ultimately the rather amateur-standard of the final actually reflects the true current state of women's cricket. There are very few full-time professionals currently in the women's game. Of those who played on Sunday I would suggest that only four players actually fall into that category - Perry, Alyssa Healy, Alex Blackwell and Stafanie Taylor, with perhaps Erin Osborne as another. The rest are effectively amateurs or semi-pros at best.

The fact that the Aussie public seem to have taken the WBBL to their hearts and made it such a huge success would suggest that they can look beyond the odd fumble and dropped catch, and that they are enjoying seeing the girls perform on the big stage. There is a massive wave of support behind women's sport at the moment and the WBBL is surfing that wave. The trick now is to make sure that there are more waves to be caught.

No doubt the top dogs at Cricket Australia are currently in a room somewhere licking their nether regions contentedly. And indeed they have every right to do so. They have invested heavily and wisely in women's cricket. Not only are there decent contracts in place for the Southern Stars (and a willingness to change who those contracted players are), but they have invested in the domestic players playing in the WNCL with all players receiving Au$7,000, and a further Au$3,000 - Au$10,000 if they play in the WBBL. But, perhaps even more significantly, CA shared the cost of getting the WBBL onto free-to-air television. No-one had any great expectations for the viewing figures, but they have been huge, which meant production company Ten decided to switch coverage to their more popular channel and cover more games. The result has been an explosion of interest in women's cricket in Australia and talk of a standalone television deal for WBBL2.

In contrast the ECB, who have also invested heavily, have provided contracts for 19 players, but nothing for those below them. The Women's Cricket Super League this summer will see no salaries for the participants. Instead the ECB will provide franchises with money to cover small match fees and expenses for the players (including those already on England contracts), and the competition is incentivized by prize money for the winning team and the losing finalist, with one pot to be shared by the players and another for the franchise host. That will be very welcome for the 30 or so players who share the prize, but is not so great for the other 60 or so who do not.

As for television coverage we have no news yet. Clare Connor has talked of "positive conversations" with broadcast partners, but nothing more than that. Is the WCSL even outside the ECB's current deal with Sky? Perhaps the success of the WBBL on television in Australia will allow those conversations to produce something positive or for the ECB to commit further investment into television coverage. It is what the competition desperately needs. Without being able to latch on to an existing franchise system for the men, as the WBBL did with the pre-existing BBL, marketing the WCSL and creating a product to inspire the next generation of women cricketers is going to be a tough gig without it being on television. And the coverage needs to be top-quality. In Australia Ten committed exactly the same production techniques and cameras to the WBBL as they did to the BBL. It showed and it worked.

As my Mum used to say "If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right!"


MD
25/I/2016

WBBL reaches heady climax

The WBBL reaches its final stages this week with the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday at the Adelaide Oval and the MCG, and the final on Sunday at a venue to be decided by who hosts the men's final. All the games are being played as double-headers with the men's BBL, and all are being televised live in Australia (there will be highlights of the semi-finals in England on Sky and the final will be live).

In the first semi-final table-toppers Sydney Thunder take on fourth place Perth Scorchers. In the second semi second-placed Hobart Hurricanes take on third-placed Sydney Sixers. Who will win these matches, or indeed the final, is anyone's guess. Two weeks ago you could have got 200/1 against the Sydney Sixers winning the tournament. They are now the 2/1 favourites!

The bookies think it will be a Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers final.

I think the experience of the Perth Scorchers should get them through against the young Thunder team, in what will be a big match, in front of a big audience. The Sixers won their last eight games to squeeze into the semi-finals as others (Melbourne Stars, Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers) blew their chances.

The Hurricanes have surprised everyone, but under the cool leadership of Heather Knight, they have exceeded even their own expectations and won several very tight games. However they have lost twice already to the Sixers in the last few days, the last one off the last ball as Sara McGlashan took the 14 runs required off Knight's last over. There is no reason to doubt that this game will be just as tight.

No matter who wins the semi-finals and ultimately the final, the tournament has to be seen as a watershed moment in women's cricket, with a realisation that if it is televised with the same professionalism as the men's game, then it has an audience. Cricket Australia have to be commended for realising this is the case and effectively paying for the initial coverage in Australia, coverage which has proved so successful it has now been switched to a more popular channel, and now includes live coverage of the semi-finals, which were originally not going to be televised at all and which were going to be played on smaller grounds.

Fingers crossed for three more great games of women's T20 cricket!

MD
20/I/16

Looking ahead to 2016!

At the end of the year there is always a tendency to look back at what has been, and it is true to say that 2015 has been a watershed year for women's cricket, not so much perhaps on the pitch, but in it's coverage and it's credibility as a standalone, entertaining and financially-viable product. Press and television coverage of the Women's Ashes was unprecedented. Every ball was on the television, including the Test at Canterbury (much to the annoyance of some patronising know-it-all journalists - who actually know very little at all about women's cricket). Every national newspaper had match reports, and carried interviews and background pieces on the players.

The Ashes was followed by the inaugural Women's Big Bash in Australia, which has been a huge success so far, with television audiences beyond anyone's expectations. The tournament looks set to stay and to grow and is a fantastic advert for women's cricket.

But enough of looking back. Let's look forward. 2016 is jam-packed with some great cricket. Here is a quick run-down of what to look out for over the coming 12 months.

January 2016

The Final of the Women's Big Bash
After 56 T20 games the semi-finals of the WBBL will be played on 21st and 22nd January and the final will be on Sunday 24th January. Who will get there? Well my money would be on the Hurricanes, the Heat, The Thunder and, maybe, just maybe, the Strikers. First team to take home the trophy? I have to stick with my original pick and say it will be the Heat. Whoever it is it has been a great step forward for women's cricket.

Australia v India 
Just two days after the Big Bash finishes the Aussies start a three match T20 series against the Indians, followed by three ICC WC ODIs. It could be carnage! The Aussies will be in prime T20 form, a format that the Indians don't seem to like much. The Aussies also sit top of the ICC WC standings and they are likely to hand out a 3-0 drubbing to the Indians in this slightly longer format of the game. With three ICC WC ODI series to play after this the Indians will be staring down the barrel at the bottom of the ICC WC standings.

January should also give us some more details about the new Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL) T20 competition planned by the ECB for August.

February 2016

South Africa v England 
No sooner will the England players have returned from their WBBL experience than they will be on the plane to South Africa for England's first tour under new Head Coach Mark Robinson. England have just renewed the contracts of the current 18 players, plus added Fran Wilson as the nineteenth. Squad, and then team, selection will be interesting and one hopes that the England players will be up for the challenge. Languishing in fifth in the ICC WC table, no less than three wins in the three ODIs will be acceptable.

New Zealand v Australia
Two weeks after their last encounter with the Indians the Aussies will be playing their first ICC WC ODI game in New Zealand. It should be a good series. The Kiwis demolished a poor Sri Lanka side in November and will be keen to nick at least one ODI off their local rivals, if not the series win, as they did to England last February. Under new Head Coach Haidee Tiffen New Zealand  look a rejuvenated unit, but the Aussies will be strong favourites to extend their lead at the top of the table.

South Africa v West Indies
As England leave South Africa so the West Indians arrive for three ICC WC ODIs and three T20s. The Windies will be keen to cement their place in the Top Four (they sit equal top as I write this), but South Africa will know that they need the points too, with New Zealand and Australia their final two opponents. Stafanie Taylor is world class for the Windies, but she cannot win the series on her own. I think the Saffers might just pip them 2-1 on home soil.

March 2016

Women's World T20
Hard on the heels of all the ICC WC ODI action comes the Women's World T20 Cup in India. This is the fifth time the competition has been held and the Aussies have won the last three. They will be hot favourites to make it four in a row. But T20 is a tough game to call.
Ten teams will fight it out for the World Champions crown - the top eight, plus Ireland and Bangladesh, who qualified in December. The groups are :-
Group A - Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland
Group B - England, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
The top two teams in each group make it to the semi-finals, with the final being played on 3rd April at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Anything less than a place in the final for either Australia or England will be a disaster. The West Indies and South Africa made it to the semis last time in Bangladesh, but they will have to fight tooth and nail with New Zealand to make it this year. India will hope to perform well on home soil (especially now that they too are contracted players), but T20 is not really their thing.
Let's hope the crowds are better than the last time India hosted a World Cup (50 overs in 2013), when the grounds were almost empty for every game.

May 2016

After a short lull the English domestic season will start on 1st May with nine county teams each playing each other to become County Champions. Last year Yorkshire won the title, and this year newcomers Somerset and Staffordshire will find themselves slugging it out with the best in the country in Division One.

June 2016

England v Pakistan
June will see the arrival of the Pakistan team in England for three ICC WC ODIs and three T20s. England will expect to pick up all the points, but it could be a good series for England to introduce some fresh faces to the squad, before the 2017 World Cup to be held in England. Coach Robinson will have found his feet by this time, so it will be interesting to see his first proper squad selection.

India v Sri Lanka
Sometime before the end of July Sri Lanka have to return to India to play at least their three ICC WC ODI games. Both sides will be desperate to get some points. Sri Lanka had seemed to be making progress as a team, but their recent results have been disappointing to say the least. It may be too little too late for India, who will finish their first ICC WC campaign with series against Pakistan and then the West Indies. A top four place may be out of sight for them by this time.

August 2016

Women's Cricket Super League
The much-heralded WCSL should kick-off in England with a two week, six team, T20 competition in August.

The franchise-based tournament aims to bring together the best of the best, but the details are still sketchy. Applications have been invited to run the teams and are now being considered. The winning bidders will be announced in January, but it looks like there will be two London-based teams, one on the south coast, one in the south west, one in the north-west and one in the midlands.

With the success of the Big Bash the pressure will be on the ECB to bring the same pizazz to the WCSL. But the ECB are starting from scratch unlike Cricket Australia who tagged the WBBL onto the existing successful Men's Big Bash teams and structure. The plan is to extend the WCSL to the 50 over game the following season, but I just cannot see this happening for a whole host of reasons.

October 2016

South Africa v New Zealand
This is the first of the 6th round games in the ICC WC and is already pencilled in to start on 8th October. The rest of the games in the round are below and they have to be played by the end of October 2016.
West Indies v England
Pakistan v India
Sri Lanka v Australia
England will almost certainly go to the West Indies in late September/early October.

November 2016

The final round of ICC WC games have to be played in October and November. The fixtures that remain are :-
Australia v South Africa
Sri Lanka v England
India v West Indies
New Zealand v Pakistan
The teams that finish in the top four positions in the table will automatically qualify for the World Cup in England in 2017. The other four will have to compete in the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2017, where they will be joined by six regional qualifiers. The ten teams will be competing for the final four places at the Women's World Cup. It means the bottom four could still get through, but teams like Ireland, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Scotland may have other ideas.

December 2016

WBBL/2
And so we return to the WBBL. No doubt WBBL/2 will be bigger, better and even more fun than WBBL/1!!

MD
30/XII/15

WBBL - Half-term Report

With 25 of the 56 WBBL league games played it seemed the right time to review how the teams, their players, and, in particular, the England players have been getting on.

The teams & their players
[current WBBL table is here]
Against all the odds the Hobart Hurricanes (6 wins/1 loss) are the league leaders with six wins out of seven, having only lost to the Scorchers. They were the bookies outsiders when the tournament started, presumably based on the premise that they were the Tasmanian Roar in purple, and the Roar had lost all their WNCL games. But England vice-captain Heather Knight has led her team from the front and they have won a few tight games with some great bowling and fielding.
Keep up the good work.

Also sitting on 12 points at the top of the table are the Brisbane Heat (6/4), but they have played three more games than the Hurricanes. They lost their first three, but then won their next five games, before tripping up against the then-winless Renegades. The Heat look a good "team" with various players standing up to be counted when needed - Grace Harris (including a century), Beth Mooney (four 50s), a re-invigorated Holly Ferling (12 wickets), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince (with the ball if not the bat).
Great team effort. You are all working together well.

Meg Lanning's Melbourne Stars (4/1) won their first four games, with Lanning looking unstoppable with the bat. To describe a team as "belonging" to any one individual can be rather disingenuous, but in this case it is wholly appropriate. When Lanning finally failed (20), so did the Stars, losing to the Hurricanes. The question is how often can she carry the Stars batting, and, if she can get them to the semi-final and then perhaps the final, can she continue to do it?
Some of you need to take on more responsibility. Don't leave it all for others to do.

The Sydney Thunder (3/2) won their first three games, but lost their last two to the winless Strikers (courtesy of a blistering 71 off 47 balls from Sarah Taylor) and the Heat. Stafanie Taylor and Alex Blackwell are carrying their batting.
Need to buck your ideas up if you are not to slip to the bottom of the pile.

Just about everyone's favourites before the tournament started (not mine I hasten to add), the Perth Scorchers (3/3), have largely failed to deliver. They beat the Heat and the Sixers early on, but have lost subsequently to the Heat, the Hurricanes and even the Sixers. Their big guns have really not fired with the exception of Suzie Bates, but she is now being replaced by Deandra Dottin.
Need to knuckle down and get on with the job in hand or your goose may be cooked.

The Adelaide Strikers (1/4) were also firm favourites to do well, based as they are around the successful South Australia Scorpions, and with English-import Sarah Taylor in their midst. Taylor finally turned on the style against the Thunder to get the Strikers first two points on the board.
Expect much more from you than we are currently seeing. Too much chatter and not enough action.

The Melbourne Renegades (1/4) also recorded their first win last weekend against the high-flying Heat. A surfeit of spinners doesn't seem to be doing the job for them and none of their batsmen have reached 50 yet in five games. Could be a long T20 campaign for them.
You are obviously trying hard. Keep working at it. Winning isn't everything.

Bottom of the pile, and likely to stay there, are the Sydney Sixers (1/6). They had been abject until they finally beat the Scorchers last weekend. They didn't just lose their first six games, they got marmelised (four times by 9 wickets!). In seven games they have only taken 17 wickets and their batting looks feeble, despite Ellyse Perry doing her best to shore it up.
Best to write off this year and look to come back bigger, better and stronger next year.

The English Players

There are nine current England players out in Oz for the WBBL and these are their numbers to date.

Batting Stats

Bowling Stats

Heather Knight has probably been the most consistent, with both bat and ball, and Sarah Taylor finally produced an innings of quality against the Thunder. Consistency has never been her strong point. Lauren Winfield has been batting in the middle order for the Heat, hence four not out innings, which keeps her average high. Her 48* was a crucial knock in the win over the Scorchers. More worrying has been the batting form of Charlotte Edwards (Scorchers), Nat Sciver (Stars) and Danni Wyatt (Renegades). After a decent start Sciver has struggled in her last few games. Edwards has never really got going and has three single-figure scores in her last three knocks. Wyatt's best knock of 28* was in the Renegades last game. One can only hope she can continue on an upward curve.

As for the bowlers, behind Knight, it has been rather mundane so far. Katherine Brunt burst on the WBBL with 4/17 in her first game, but has only taken two wickets in four games since. She has been miserly however. Danni Wyatt  picked up four wickets in the Renegades only win and has been tight, going at only just over five per over. Laura Marsh has had a couple of good games with the ball, but has only bowled her full compliment of four overs once. Both Kate Cross and Nat Sciver have been expensive in claiming seven wickets each. It has to be said that T20 is a notoriously difficult gig for the bowlers, particularly those who bowl in the first six powerplay overs. The England girls have actually done OK without setting the WBBL on fire. Compare the England girls stats with Ellyse Perry who has just three wickets for 145 runs from 21 overs at an economy rate of nearly 7 per over.

The WBBL continues on Boxing Day when the Stars take on the Scorchers. It is the start of a brutal period for the Scorchers as they play six games in seven days. If there is one gripe about the WBBL it must be the rather haphazard scheduling. Perhaps 56 is too many games?

MD

21/XII/15

Huge WBBL weekend

This weekend is a massive one for the inaugural WBBL. Not only are there 13 of the 56 league games being played over the three days, but two of the games - Heat v Strikers (Sat pm) and Sixers v Scorchers (Sun am) are on free-to-air-television in Australia (ONE). It is important for the competition that these games are good to watch - runs, wickets, catches. The men's Big Bash has also started now, so comparisons will inevitably be drawn. The girls really need to put on a performance to showcase what women's cricket is all about.

Hopefully the Sixers will perform better against the Scorchers than they did at Perth last week, where they were bowled out for 81 and lost by nine wickets. They have lost four from four, and they have lost them all badly, so they must be hoping that at least one of their stars (Perry, Healy, Kapp, McGlashan or Marsh) come off in a big way.

The first game features the Heat, who got their campaign on track winning their last three games to stand 3/3. The Strikers however lost twice to the surprise league-leaders the Hobart Hurricanes. In one game they went down by just two runs, but in the other they were bowled out for just 83 runs and lost by 9 wickets. I think they will do better this weekend and this could be one of the games of the weekend.

Other matches to watch out for are...

Thunder v Strikers on Friday - the Thunder have only played one game against the under-performing Sixers, and this could be a much sterner test for Stafanie Taylor and co. The Strikers really need to get their weekend off to a good start.

Hurricanes v Scorchers on Saturday (two games) - The unbeaten Hurricanes take on the Scorchers twice on their visit to Sydney. The Scorchers haven't really hit their straps yet, but they have the firepower to cause the Hurricanes a few headaches this weekend.

Stars v Hurricanes on Sunday - Stars third game of the weekend is against the Hurricanes. Meg Lanning smashed her team through the first weekend of fixtures with 75* and 90. The Hurricanes will be hoping to get her early and see what the rest of the Star's batting line-up is made of.

Heat v Thunder on Sunday - this is the last game of the weekend. It will be both the Heat's and the Thunder's fourth in three days, with the Thunder travelling from their first game of the day at Allan Border Field to the Gabba, where the Heat will have played in the morning. It is not something the players are used to, so the Heat might just have the edge.

Come Sunday night the league table could look very different from the way it looks now (see here), I think the Heat, Stars, Scorchers and Thunder will be at the top. At the bottom I think it will remain the Renegades and the Sixers, but you never know in T20.

MD
17/XII/15

England should let Knight captain T20s in SA

It is very early days in the WBBL out in Australia, but originally 16/1 outsiders, Heather Knight's Hobart Hurricanes, could not have made a better start to the competition. Against all the odds they have won their first four games on the bounce against the Melbourne Renegades (twice), the Sydney Sixers, and the pre-tournament favourites the Perth Scorchers. It means they top the nascent league table ahead of the Brisbane Heat (3/3), followed by undefeated Melbourne Stars (2/0) and the Perth Scorchers (2/1).
[click here for points table]

The Hurricanes, based in Tasmania, are effectively the same squad as played under the Tasmanian Roar banner in the WNCL and finished plum last, losing all six of their 50 over games. Knight only joined them for their last three games, but Veronica Pyke remained their captain.

Before the start of the WBBL Knight was announced as the skipper of the new Hobart Hurricanes women's team. She has skillfully led them to four wins out of four. Victories have been based on some solid, if unspectacular batting - Knight herself has scored 26, 38, 50 and 25 at a strike rate of just over a run-a-ball - and some dogged bowling and fielding displays. Four run outs and some great catches against the Renegades reduced them to 86 all out chasing the Hurricanes 121/5.
[match highlights from two games v Renegades]

The wickets have been shared around amongst the six bowlers that Knight has used (the Hurricanes have fielded the same 11 for each of their four matches). Top of the pile is the very experienced 34 year old Ronnie Pyke with eight wickets and an economy rate of just over 4 runs per over. She has been backed up by the miserly Julie Hunter, who bowls with Pyke or Knight in those vital opening six powerplay overs. Hunter and Knight have six wickets apiece at 4.5 and 5 runs per over respectively. New Zealand import Amy Satterthwaite has not only strengthened the batting, but has been a revelation with the ball, taking the pressure off the slightly younger Brooke Hepburn and Erin Burns, although both of these two have been around the game for several years. All three have wickets to their name. The Hurricanes look like a tight unit and they are responding well to their new skipper, to whom England will need to turn at some stage in the not too distant future.

Knight has skippered her adopted Berkshire team since early in the 2012 season, taking over from Isa Guha, having come to the county in 2010 from her native Devon. But at Berkshire her resources have always been rather limited, often relying on her own abilities to get the results that have kept the county in Division One of the Women's County Championship. Now it appears that she has the, albeit rather limited, resources that she needs to get the results that put her team at the top of the league.

The Hurricanes will do very well to stay there, but they have already shown their mettle closing out tight games against the Renegades and the Strikers (effectively the Adelaide team that won the WNCL) by four runs and two runs, defending just 125 and 117. There will be tougher games to come as the Hurricanes leave Tasmania for mainland Australia, but if they can win just half of their remaining 10 fixtures they are likely to find themselves in a top four spot and a place in one of the semi-finals. And then who knows?

Just a few days after the WBBL ends Knight will be on a plane to South Africa with England, where they play three ODIs and three T20Is against the Proteas. After that in March England will be heading to the T20 World Cup in India. Perhaps the time is right in South Africa for new Head Coach, Mark Robinson, to hand over the England T20 captaincy to Knight, with a view to her leading her country in the WT20 tournament that follows so soon afterwards. It will be a tough call for Robinson to make as this is his first tour with the England girls and he is still to meet the nine players who are plying their trade in the WBBL. But if Knight can lead her Hurricanes into the WBBL semi-finals or even the final itself, then she will have thrown down the gauntlet to the new England Head Coach. The question is will he pick it up?

MD
13/XII/15

WBBL makes successful start

The Women's Big Bash T20 competition has got off to a flying start in Australia with the first three games played in front of crowds of over 1,000 people (albeit they did not have to pay). [scorecards here]

The first two games were on Saturday at the Junction Oval in Melbourne where the Melbourne Stars, led by Meg Lanning, took on the Brisbane Heat, in two games, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It was the Stars that came out on top by 20 runs and then 10 runs, as Meg Lanning dominated with the bat, scoring 90 and 75*. For the Heat Grace Harris swung hard for 42 and 37, and Jess Jonassen made 52 not out as the Heat fell just short. It goes without saying that Lanning's wicket is going to be key for Stars' opponents. It may pay teams to attack her early on in her innings with perhaps a slip and gully for the pace bowlers, and with off-spin, if available, as this has proved effective in the past. She does seem to be in a different class though once she gets going.

On Sunday the two Sydney teams - Thunder and Sixers - got their WBBL campaigns underway, and, against the odds, the Thunder came out on top by 9 wickets, thanks to a great bowling performance which restricted the star-studded Sixers (Healy, Perry, McGlashan, Kapp, Sthalekar) to just 101/9 in their 20 overs, and some sublime batting from West Indian Stafanie Taylor. Star of the show with the ball was 17 year old left-arm seamer Lauren Cheatle who took 4/20, with Rene Farrell also getting through her four overs for just eight runs. It is pressure like that that takes wickets, not necessarily for the bowler themselves, but for the team. With little pressure from the required run rate Taylor started slowly, but then launched into the Thunder's bowlers, including Ellyse Perry (0/24 off two overs). The game was over in the 14th over.

Next weekend the tournament really swings into gear with nine games in three days at three different venues - Aquinas College in Perth (four games involving the Scorchers, Heat and Sixers), Aurora Stadium in Launceston (four games involving the Hurricanes, Renegades and Strikers, including two day/nighters) and one match at the WACA (Scorchers v Heat). The schedule means that the Hobart Hurricanes will play four of their 14 games within two days, which could be tough.

It is probably too early to speculate on who might end up winning the inaugural WWBL trophy, or indeed who might get to the semis and the final, but we may have a slightly better idea after next weekend.

MD
07/XII/15

Women's Big Bash - 59 T20 games in 50 days!

Tomorrow the inaugural Women's Big Bash (WBBL 01) kicks off with the Melbourne Stars and the Brisbane Heat playing two T20 games against each other at the Junction Oval in Melbourne. There will follow another 55 games in the next seven weeks as the eight teams - Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder - try to reach the semi-finals on 21st and 22nd January and then the final on Sunday 24th January.

It is the biggest thing to happen in women's cricket, since...well...ever. 

All the players are being paid to play (albeit only $3,000 - $10,000 (about £1,500 - £5,000)) and in addition to all of Australia's home-grown stars - Perry, Lanning, Healy, Blackwell, Schutt, Coyte, Bolton, Villani et al, the tournament has attracted some foreign imports, keen to be part of the most competitive T20 competition there is. England has provided nine players - Brunt, Cross, Edwards, Knight, Marsh, Sciver, Taylor, Winfield, and Wyatt, New Zealand six - Bates, Devine, McGlashan, Nielsen, Priest, and Satterthwaite. The West Indies have provided Dottin, Taylor, King and young Hayley Matthews, and South Africa du Preez, van Niekerk and Kapp.

The tournament has its own sponsor - rebel - the leading retailer of sporting and leisure equipment and clothing in Australia, and eight of the games will be televised on free-to-air television in Australia, including the semi-finals and the final.

The tournament has also attracted a few other stars. Former tennis player Ash Barty has switched to cricket to play for the Brisbane Heat. Her switch has attracted a lot of media attention, but whether her cricketing skills will stand up to the test is questionable. The WBBL has also enticed two former Aussie favourites out of retirement - 39 year old Shelley Nitschke for the Adelaide Strikers and 36 year old Lisa Sthalekar for the Sydney Sixers. It will be interesting to see how they cope with a game that has moved on very fast since they retired.

As well as the big international names some of the players to look out for are :-

Amanda-Jade Wellington (Adelaide Strikers) - Named this morning in the Striker's squad this young leg-spinner could be a match winner.

Beth Mooney (Brisbane Heat) - Plied her trade with Yorkshire in England last season and looked a classy left-hand opening bat, who hit the ball straight beautifully. She is made for the first six overs of a T20.

Delissa Kimmince (Brisbane Heat) - Should have been on the plane to England with the Southern Stars for the Ashes tour, but got a lower back injury, which ruled her out and allowed her team-mate Grace Harris (Brisbane Heat) a chance to show what she can do. Like Harris, Kimmince hits the ball....hard.

Lauren Cheatle (Sydney Thunder)  - The 17 year old left-arm quick had a good first WNCL campaign with NSW and could trouble a few top order batsmen. Under the experienced wing of Alex Blackwell she could be a useful weapon.

Rachel Priest (Melbourne Renegades) - she is a well-capped New Zealand international, but she is in a purple patch at the moment and could score big for the Renegades, who may have to rely heavily on their internationals to get them some runs.

Hayley Matthews (Hobart Hurricanes) - the 17 year old West Indian obviously impressed the Aussies when she toured there with the Windies in 2014. She has yet to fulfill that early potential she showed, but maybe the faster Aussie wickets will again suit her confident batting style.

Cricket Australia have said that they are not that bothered about the numbers that turn up to the games, which are free, unless they are double-headers with the men. Ironically I think they would have got potentially more spectators if they had charged just a small sum for tickets, say $5 or $10. The mere act of paying something for your ticket makes you value the experience more and mean you are more likely to attend. CA's mantra is that it is all about inspiring girls to play cricket, and they seem to think that the eight games on television are far more important than the other 51 games being played. Given the fantastic crowds that came to the Ashes games in England last year, then they might be missing a trick. At sensible prices people will come.

This is a big test for women's cricket in Australia. 59 games in 50 days is a lot. Hopefully the games that are on television will be good games, and crowds will go and watch their local franchise. They are of course piggy-backing on the back of the men's BBL (which has the same teams), which is firmly established in the Aussie psyche. That gives them some instant credibility, but it is potentially a two-edged sword in that the girls may be compared to their hard-hitting male counterparts. Women's T20 is not a slog-fest.

I commend CA for the money and effort that they have put into the tournament and the commitment of the franchises to the women's teams, but I can't help feeling that they may have bitten off more than they (and the Aussie general public) can chew. Rather than moving down from seven state teams they have moved up to eight franchises, diluting their own resources. The 20 odd internationals fill the gap to some extent, but many of them played in the WT20 last year too, before the Big Bash was born. I can't help thinking that single franchises in Melbourne and Sydney, rather than two in each, would have made for a better competition.

In England the ECB will be looking on with interest as they plan their own Women's Cricket Super League T20 tournament for next season. The plan there is for six teams and games played in a two week window. The six team format will also be the premier 50 over competition the year after.

But enough of this negativity. The Aussies have done a great job of hyping up the interest in the tournament and the mere fact that the girls in each team will get to play 14 top quality T20 games in seven weeks will allow them to hone their T20 skills ahead of the T20 World Cup in March 2016.

I have to say I wish I was out there to watch it.

MD
04/XII/15

Packed 2016 for England

So the Ashes are over. The debriefs, inquests and analysis can begin.

That is it for international cricket for the England players for 2015. Many will return to their counties for the final weekend of County Championship fixtures on Sunday 13th September, and for some it will then be a trip to Australia for the WNCL (starting 9th October) and/or the Women's Big Bash League, starting on 5th December. Already signed up are Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Charlotte Edwards, Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Sarah Taylor, Lauren Winfield and Danni Wyatt. Currently contracted England players have been told that they will have to return to the UK before the WBBL semi-finals (21/22 Jan) and the final (24 Jan) are played, to prepare for the tour to South Africa, but Cricket Australia are hoping that the ECB may have a change of mind.

Before that the ECB should announce the new central contracts for England players, which should start on 1st October 2015 for one year. The announcement for the men is usually made in mid-September. In addition the ECB are expected to name shortly an England Women's Winter Training Squad, plus England Academy and age group squads.

All this precedes an unprecedented packed schedule of international and domestic cricket in 2016. England have ICC Women's Championship tours to South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka to fit in before the end of the year, plus the T20 World Cup in India starting in mid-March. On top of that they host Pakistan in June (again to include the three ICCWC games) and the inaugural WCSL T20 tournament is pencilled in for two weeks in August. Just add to that the Women's County Championship and that makes a massively busy year.

What England's schedule in 2016 looks like :-

February - tour to South Africa
7th Feb - 21st Feb - 3 ODIs and 3 T20s

March - T20 World Cup India
11th March - 3rd April

June/July - Pakistan tour England
Probably 3 ODIs and 3 T20s

August - Women's Cricket Super League - T20 competiton
15th - 28th August (approximate dates)

Aug-Oct window - tour to West Indies
Probably 3 ODIs and 3 T20s

Oct - Nov window - tour to Sri Lanka
Probably 3 ODIs and 3 T20s

MD
2/IX/15

Aussies launch Women's Big Bash League

Cricket Australia have launched the Women's Big Bash League, which will feature eight teams, aligned with the current men's Big Bash teams, playing 59 T20 games over 51 days (they play each other twice), starting on 5th December. At the end of the 56 game league competition there will be two semi-finals followed by a final, which will be played on 24th January.

Just eight of those games will be broadcast live on Network Ten's ONE channel, which will presumably include the semi-finals and the final. The first game looks likely to the Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Renegades on 19th December. It is a relatively small number, but it is the first outing for "domestic cricket" on television in Australia, and this is a free-to-air station which will be a big boost for the game in Australia.

In a well-co-ordinated launch each of the franchises named their first "star signing", namely :-

Adelaide Strikers - Megan Schutt (SA Scorpions)
Brisbane Heat - Holly Ferling (Queensland Fire)
Hobart Hurricanes - Julie Hunter (Vic Spirit)
Melbourne Renegades - Sarah Elliott (Vic Spirit)
Melbourne Stars - Meg Lanning (Vic Spirit)
Perth Scorchers - Jess Cameron (Vic Spirit)
Sydney Sixers - Ellyse Perry (NSW Breakers)
Sydney Thunder - Rene Farrell (ACT Meteors)

Four of those named are (or perhaps were) team-mates at one of Australia's strongest state sides Vic Spirit - namely Julie Hunter, Sarah Elliott, Meg Lanning and Jess Cameron. Each will now be playing WBBL against the other.

The big names amongst the eight are obviously current Aussie skipper, and number one ranked T20 batsman in the world, Meg Lanning, and Aussie all-rounder and favourite Ellyse Perry, who have signed for the Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Sixers respectively. Expect to see more announcements over the coming weeks and months as the teams start to take shape.

Under the rules each team will be limited to five "star" players (defined as current or recent Southern Stars or overseas players), of whom three can be from overseas. This is to try and create a more balanced competition and it will particularly affect the players from the dominant NSW Breakers and Vic Spirit state sides.

Some of the key names to look out for over the coming weeks are :-

Alex Blackwell (NSW), who has just finished a stint in English county cricket with Berkshire, and was the leading run scorer in the WT20 last season

Southern Stars wicket-keeper and hard-hitting batsman, Alyssa Healy (NSW), whom it appears may have already signed for the Sydney Sixers.

Aussie opening bats Elyse Villani (NSW) and Nicole Bolton (NSW), who look likely to turn up in the orange shirts of the Perth Scorchers.

There are also plenty of other current Southern Stars still to be announced by teams, such as leggie Kristen Beams (Vic Spirit), left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (Queensland), off-spinner Erin Osborne (NSW), who has just finished a spell at Sussex, and Delissa Kimmince (Queensalnd).

Outside of the current Southern Stars a few names that are sure to be on some short-lists are:-

Former international Leah Poulton (NSW), who retired from state cricket at the beginning of this year at the tender age of 31. Her experience and batting skills would be a great asset to any franchsie, and it would be no surprise to see her name on the roster for one of the Sydney-based teams.

Erin Burns (Tasmanian Roar) is a star in the making. She was in the top 10 run-getters and wicket-takers in last years WT20 competition and plays a style of cricket ideally suited to T20.

Young off-spinner Molly Strano (Vic Spirit) could well be enticed away from her current state of Victoria. She is a Shooting Star (Aussie Academy) and has been honing her skills in England with Div 2 side Staffordshire, where she has been getting plenty of runs and wickets.

Some other Shooting Stars who are likely to be sought after are Jemma Barsby (Queensland), Amanda Wellington (SA Scorpions), Piepa Cleary (Western Fury) and Beth Mooney (Queensland).

And to these, of course, you need to add a sprinkling of overseas talent. Last year English trio Heather Knight, Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor finished third, fourth and seventh in the top run-scorers in the WT20. They are sure to be invited back. Also on franchise shopping lists will be New Zealanders Amy Satterthwaite, Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Rachel Priest. Also eager to play will probably be West Indian's Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin, plus South African's Mignon du Preez  and Dane van Niekerk. It would also be great for the game in India if legendary captain Mithali Raj could find a slot in one of the team's, perhaps with team-mate Jhulan Goswami.

All will be revealed over the coming weeks and months.

MD

10/VII/15

Women's Big Bash gets the go-ahead

So it is official the Women's Big Bash will kick off in Australia next season - you'd guess in December this year.

Cricket Australia has announced that there will be eight women's teams that will align with the eight men's teams (see here) This means there will be two teams based in Melbourne (Stars & Renegades); two in Sydney (Sixers & Thunder) and one each in Perth (Scorchers), Adelaide (Strikers), Brisbane (Heat), and Hobart (Hurricanes). The bracketed names are the current men's teams.

It is great news for the women's game, but the format of the competition and the teams themselves, plus the participation of non-Australian players, and the payment of all the players that take part, and the television coverage all seem to be in the air at the present time. There are some interesting dilemmas to be resolved.

In the current state formats of the game (T20 and WNCL 50 over cricket) there are seven state teams. The front runners for many years have been the New South Wales Breakers based in Sydney. Their main competition has come from the Vic Spirit based in Melbourne. These two teams boast several Southern Stars and Shooting Stars amongst their numbers. How will they be reallocated with two teams based in their home cities. Will current state team-mates Ellyse Perry end up bowling at Alex Blackwell and Erin Osborne at Alyssa Healey, or Molly Strano bowl at her former skipper Meg Lanning?

You would guess that the bulk of the players for the Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart sides will be formed from the current state teams - Western Fury, South Australian Scorpions, Queensland Fire and the Tasmanian Roar already based in these cities, and if the Breakers and the Spirit are both split into two teams it may even the competition out somewhat.

As reported previously there is no place in the WBBL for state side ACT based in Canberra, so their players are likely to be drafted into the Sydney and Melbourne franchises just based on geography alone.

In addition there will be plenty of foreign players keen to show off their skills in the tournament, particularly if they are paid to do so. Quite a few of the current New Zealand side played part of the Australian domestic season eg Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Amy Satterthwaite, as did England's Charlotte Edwards, Heather Knight and Sarah Taylor. I cannot see an IPL auction being the way forward, nor a free-for-all, so you would guess that CA will set a limit on foreign players and at least have some say in who goes where, as they have done in state cricket.

As to the format of the competition and when the games are played, it seems likely that double headers with the men's games will be the norm, but these could be before or after the men's game ( I prefer after) and CA need to be careful not to treat the WBBL as a mere sideshow to the "real" Big Bash (ie the men). It will be a difficult tightrope to walk. Hopefully some kind of deal will also have been struck with Network Ten to cover at least some, if not all, of the women's games on television. Whether Sky in the UK or New Zealand for example would also take the coverage remains to be seen. Perhaps it would be better if a free-to-air television company picked up the rights to the women's games, if they are available (BBC are you reading this?). It would be great for the profile of the sport.

So there are undoubtedly lots of questions still to be answered, but the commitment seems to be there from Cricket Australia, for which I applaud them. Will they make all the right decisions and will the WBBL be an overnight success? Probably not, but it is another step in the right direction for the women's game.

MD
19/ii/15