Reasons to be cheerful for England and South Africa

England wrapped up what looks like a comfortable five wicket win against South Africa in the third ODI of the tour to take the two ICCWC points and the series 2-1.

Georgia Elwiss in full flow
(c) Don Miles

In reality the win, with six overs to spare, was far from comfortable, until Georgia Elwiss came to the crease with England 91/4, chasing 197 to win. Playing her first game of the tour replacing Lydia Greenway, Elwiss breezed past her previous best of 25* to record her maiden 50 for England in any format (for a lot of her early career she batted at 11). She went on to make 61, striking the ball cleanly and with freedom, before she was out with England needing just nine runs to win. She and Heather Knight (67*) had added 97 for the 5th wicket and taken the game away from a tenacious South African team, which seemed to have a new self-belief of their own.

Elwiss's innings was indicative of the new fearless style of cricket that Mark Robinson, along with coaches Ali Maiden and Ian Salisbury, seems to have instilled in the girls, in his brief tenure at the top of the women's game. Amy Jones, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt and Elwiss all seem to have been asked to play their own pugnacious style of cricket. With the steadying influences of Charlotte Edwards and Heather Knight in the top order mix and with Nat Sciver to come back, it is a heady combination, which may sometimes come unstuck, but will make England an exciting team to watch.

In this series it was not the batting that let England down, but the fielding and the bowling, combined with an exceptional batting display from Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp in the second ODI. England bowled better in the final ODI restricting South Africa to 196/9, and indeed it would have been far fewer had it not been for another belligerent innings from Lee (74) ably supported by the young Sune Luus (20), who will make a top order batsman over the next few years, and also sets the standard in the field for the Proteas. She, along with skipper Mignon Du Preez and 17 year old Laura Wolvaart, took stunning catches in the second ODI to remove set English batsmen and allow South Africa to outfield the England side in all three games. If they can bring that intensity and skill to their T20 game then South Africa could well trouble England in this format too, and their Group A opposition in the WT20 next month - Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Ireland. They will back themselves to beat Sri Lanka and Ireland, and if they can sneak a win against New Zealand or even Australia (who no longer look quite so infallible), or they slip up in any of their other games, South Africa will make the semi-finals of another world championship competition.

England will be relieved to have picked up the four points they have from the ICCWC games, which takes them to 13, equal with South Africa in fourth place in the table. England have by far the easier run in in the competition with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies to play. South Africa on the other hand have West Indies (currently second on 16 points), New Zealand (currently third on 14 points) and Australia (currently top on 20 points). The West Indies' other series is against India (6th), who are currently playing Sri Lanka (1-0 to India so far), and finish with Pakistan. They are not out of the running if they can replicate the form they recently showed against the Aussies. New Zealand are due to face Australia in five days time, before being hosted by South Africa and then finishing with a home series against Pakistan.

For now England and South Africa will focus on the T20 format of the game. They play each other on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, with the latter two games being televised. The WT20 then kicks off on 15th March. It is looking like it could be the most fiercely contested world championship tournament ever.

[3rd ODI scorecard]

MD
15/II/16

South Africa claim epic victory

Having won the first ODI comfortably England probably thought that their 262/9 would be more than enough to get them another two ICCWC points and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match ODI series.

Even as the Proteas got themselves to 113/0 with half-centuries for 16 year old Laura Wolvaart (55) and the much more experienced Trisha Chetty (66), England probably still felt in control as nearly 28 overs had been used up getting there. True Katherine Brunt had had to leave the pitch with a back spasm, which meant England were down to five bowlers, but the run rate was climbing to nearly seven an over from an original 5.26 and the spin of Dani Hazell and Heather Knight seemed to be doing the job for England. When Wolvaart departed, followed shortly afterwards by Chetty and then skipper Du Preez, South Africa were 134/3 with only 17 overs left to play. Initially Lizelle Lee (69 from 56) and Marizanne Kapp (44 from 34) seemed unable to break the shackles and the required run rate rose to 9.5 with 11 overs left. But in the 40th over (the last in the batting powerplay) Lee smashed three consecutive 4s off Jenny Gunn, taking 14 off of the over. The chase was on. Danni Wyatt's next went for 10 more; Shrubsole took the next and also went for 10; Knight's next for 12; Gunn's next seven and the 45th over of the game from Knight 18 (including four 4s from Kapp). South Africa suddenly needed just 33 from the last six overs. The game for England was gone. Both Kapp and Lee perished in the final three overs, but their beautifully paced 123 run partnership allowed South Africa to record their first win over England in the last 15 ODI games between the two sides. And they thoroughly deserved it.

As for England Charlotte Edwards may well rue her choice to bat first on a wicket that Mignon Du Preez was not unhappy to bowl on. It is Edwards' way to like runs on the board, but at 16/3 in the 7th over England made a horrible start. Winfield and Jones both edged behind, and Sarah Taylor on her 100th ODI appearance was dropped by keeper Chetty first ball, only to be bowled next ball by the impressive Ismail (3/32). But to their credit England built a decent score based on Knight's 61, Edwards 45 and Wyatt's 27 ball 40, and an excellent finish from the tail taking 51 off the last five overs despite being down to their last pair for the last four overs. And it could have been more had it not been for three screaming catches from Sune Luus, Wolvaart and Du Preez. But perhaps those last few overs showed what a good pitch this had now become.

The win takes South Africa back above England in the ICCWC table (see here) with 13 points to England's 11. The final game of the series is on Sunday. England could well be without the injured Brunt, for whom Cross is likely to come in. If the management are true to their word then no other changes are likely, and neither is a change in style. South Africa will truly believe they can win the series. England have a fight on their hands and it will be interesting to see how they respond.

[full scorecard here]

MD
12/II/16

Faith, hope and clarity

Sunday saw India pick up a consolation ODI win, and two potentially vital ICCWC points, against an Australian team that took it's foot off the gas after a long season. A team that prides itself on it's fielding dropped three clear-cut catches and missed a vital stumping, as Mithali Raj rode her luck to score a vital 89, the Indians chasing down the Aussies under par 234/5 with three wickets in hand.

Meanwhile over in Benoni in South Africa England wrapped up a comfortable seven wicket win as thunderstorms reduced an original target of 197 to just 150. For once it was England's batting that shone with confident knocks from Amy Jones (34), Charlotte Edwards (33), Sarah Taylor (41*) and Heather Knight (26*). With the ball Anya Shrubsole was head and shoulders above her contemporaries taking 4/29 as the Proteas slumped to 196 all out having been 119/1 in the 31st over. In the field Jenny Gunn and Lydia Greenway both dropped chances off Katherine Brunt, either one of which would have given her her 100th ODI wicket.

But what struck me about the two games was the varying fortunes of two potential future stars of international cricket - namely Grace Harris for Australia and Amy Jones for England.

Grace Harris burst onto the scene in Australia last year and made her debut for the Southern Stars in the summer of 2015 in Ireland. She is a no-nonsense hard-hitting batsman, with a care-free attitude to match her style of play. She likes to go big over the legside. "Grace" may be her name, but it is not her style.

Her reputation was enhanced early in the WBBL when she formed an exciting opening partnership with Beth Mooney for the Brisbane Heat, including smashing the tournament's only century, scoring 103 off just 55 balls, against the then hapless Sydney Sixers (who would have thought they would go on to reach the final?). She was a shoe-in for the Southern Stars squad to face the Indians, at least in the T20 version of the game, but she was also selected for the ODI squad too. However things could not have gone much worse for her in the series as she has scored 0, 0 and 9 opening in the T20s, and 2 and 0 in the two ODIs she batted in, coming in at 5. She will always be a hit and miss batsmen, but Australia need at least some "hits" to keep her in the line-up. It will be interesting to see how much faith Aussie coach Matthew Mott has in her with the New Zealand series and the T20 World Cup just around the corner.

In contrast Amy Jones has been in and around the England team for several years without ever really getting much chance to show what she can do. In some ways she is hampered by being a very good wicket-keeper. In almost any other international set-up she would be selected as a wicket-keeper batsmen, but England have the best keeper in the world, Sarah Taylor, behind the stumps, whom Jones has had to understudy on tour after tour. She is however a very stylish batsman in her own right.

She finally made her ODI debut in the ill-fated World Cup game with Sri Lanka in Mumbai in February 2013. Batting at 7 she scored a classy 41, second top score for England. England went on to lose and Jones did not play again in the tournament. In fact she did not play an ODI again until almost a year later, when she appeared in the third Ashes ODI at Hobart. She did not bat. 13 months after that she made a couple of appearances in the 11 in New Zealand, scoring 4 on her only visit to the crease, as England got thumped by 9 wickets. It looked as though the Ashes series last year might finally see her picked as a batsman and given a decent run, but after a good looking 15 in the first ODI at Taunton, she made a duck at Bristol in the following game and took no further part in the series, losing her place in the Test squad to Fran Wilson. She showed the management what they were missing by hitting an unbeaten 155 against the full Aussie squad in a three day warm-up game two days later. England went on to lose the Test, the Ashes series and their Head of Performance (Paul Shaw).

In has come former Sussex coach Mark Robinson as Head Coach, who seems to have a knack of getting the best out of players. He turned around the career of Chris Jordan when he came to Sussex from Surrey and has had a similar positive effect with troubled players like Tymal Mills and Ollie Robinson. He has seen something in Jones' batting which he likes, and he put his faith in her sending her in to open with Lauren Winfield in the first ODI against South Africa. Both have obviously been given licence to bat positively - not slog, but hit through the ball when they can and dispatch the bad balls. The first 10 powerplay overs, when only two fielders are allowed outside the circle, are a key area for scoring runs.

Jones rewarded him with 34 off 27 balls, including six fours. She was out hitting a long-hop to midwicket. It was a frustrating end to a confident knock. Listening to Robinson and Assistant Coach Ali Maiden on commentary, they will have been satisfied with her knock. It had the right intent and the right style. Their confidence in her ability allowed her to bat with the freedom she needed. If she can maintain that positive attitude, and they keep faith in her, then she may prove to be an invaluable asset at the top of the batting order, not just in ODIs, but in T20s too, just in time for the WWT20.

The next few weeks will be interesting times for both players and for the coaches that pick them.

MD
08/II/16

England must win South Africa series 3-0

Australia have kicked off the 2016 installment of ICC Women's Championship ODIs (the last year of this World Cup qualifying tournament) with their current series against India. As you will see from the WCB ODI team Rankings Table below they are head and shoulders above any other side in the world having won 25 of their last 31 ODIs (81%) at the start of the series.



After game one of the India series that became 26/32 with a very comfortable 101 run victory after a rather lacklustre run chase by India in pursuit of Australia's 275/6. And after game two it was 27/33 as the Aussies cruised to another comfortable win, chasing down 252 with six wickets in hand.

Current ICCWC Table (05/02/16)

It leaves India in a huge ODI hole with just 5 points from their 11 ICCWC games. They appear to be heading for the qualifying tournament, although they still have series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies to come.

Australia play their last game of the India series on Sunday, which is when England kick off their series against South Africa with their first ODI (this is the last series in Round 4 of the tournament). Nothing less than a 3-0 series win will do for England. The six points will take them to 15 in total and a more comfortable third place in the table, with series against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies to come.

England have had two pretty meaningless warm-up games against South Africa Emerging players. If they are the best they have behind the main squad then South Africa have some worries. The South Africa squad has some familiar names in it - Mignon du Preez, Dane van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp (all have just returned from the WBBL), plus the exciting pace of Shabnim Ismail, who spent just one weekend with the Melbourne Renegades and picked up 3/10 against the Stars (including England's Nat Sciver). Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty, Lizelle Lee and Sune Luus make up the bulk of a decent side, which, on paper, looks somewhat short on batting in the ODI format and short on power in the T20 format.

England have a new Head Coach in Mark Robinson, but the team that takes the park on Sunday is likely to have a very familiar look to it for all England fans. Seven of the 15 man squad have spent the past couple of months in the WBBL in Australia - Brunt, Cross, Edwards, Knight, Taylor, Winfield, Wyatt. The other eight are Beaumont, Elwiss, Greenway, Grundy, Gunn, Hazell, Jones, and Shrubsole (Sciver was originally selected but remains in England due to an ankle injury).

The starting 11 may well look like this - Edwards, Winfield, Taylor, Knight, Greenway, Jones, Wyatt, Brunt, Gunn, Grundy, and Shrubsole.

England should be too strong for South Africa in the longer format of the game, but things might be tighter in the T20 format, when you would hope that England will be looking to find the right combinations for the T20 World Cup in India, which starts in March.

MD
05/II/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