Women's cricket in 2021 (now playing: Zim v Ire)


Pink ball Test during the school holidays in Perth, ticks just about every box imaginable. More limited overs stuff in Sydney and Melbourne feels extremely unnecessary and contemptuous of QLD (though it may have something to do with contracts broken last season, idk).

Commonwealth Bank Women's Series v India

Sep 19:
First ODI, North Sydney Oval (D/N)

Sep 22: Second ODI, Junction Oval

Sep 24: Third ODI, Junction Oval

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, WACA Ground (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, North Sydney Oval

Oct 9: Second T20, North Sydney Oval

Oct 11: Third T20, North Sydney Oval
 

BGman

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Looks as tho women's Test cricket is on the up. Us v India upcoming and tonite the English girls are at home to the Indian girls.
 

andrewmillman

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Gotta ask -is there a crowd allowed? Surely they can get more than this for england vs the indians.
 
Not sure if it's been mentioned in commentary but the decision by England to not pick Sarah Glenn (sent her back to domestic stuff when the squad was cut from 17 to 15) is a missed opportunity, to say the least.

Through other actions (using the Kookaburra, selecting Sophia Dunkley, etc.), they've made it clear that they want to use this match as preparation for the Ashes, so why would you go with a 5th medium pacer over a 2nd spinner. All it would take is for Ecclestone to get injured or be unavailable, and then they're left with nobody (or nobody good, at least) with any Test experience whatsoever to bring in (keeping in mind Laura Marsh retired last year).
 
Hmm well given Deepdish and Snrub were the only bowlers to make much of an impact today, the blowback of picking just the one frontline spinner might turn out to be rather immediate for England.

Elwiss and Cross will need to extract more from the pitch than what India's seamers managed on the first day (unlikely) to justify their selection, or the part-timers will be required to do quite a bit of work while still keeping it tidy (plausible, but an unnecessary gamble).
 

BGman

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Goswami.. archaic in cricket terms. recall watching her at least a decade ago.
 

BGman

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people aren't happy they're being served up a used pitch from the T20 as a Test pitch
You saying it will wear sooner and play into the Indian spinners hands. Game looks evenly poised after first day. Refresh my memory.. female Tests over four or five days?
 

Park cricketer

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Then this another case of cricket boards kow towing to the powerful BCCI.

Lmao, I doubt the BCCI gives a fu** about women's cricket to rig pitches in their favour. They didn't pay the Indian women's team their prize money for over 2 years until they were forced to pay after being brought to light by Izzie Westbury.
 

The Victorian

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So English players won't be playing WBBL this season as there is a clash between ENG v PAK and the WBBL. C'mon Pakistan move the series!
 
Somehow I don't think Pakistan are in a position to be picky about when teams tour.

And even if that series was cancelled, which is a distinct possibility, there's no guarantee the English players would make themselves available (or be made available by the ECB) for the WBBL anyway.

As it stands, they could make it over for the 2nd half of the WBBL if all parties were so inclined, which would still be much better than in several previous years when they've had to leave come finals.
 
God almighty England did just about the bare minimum to turn it back into their favour. Horrendous finish to the day by India, all wickets bar the Raj bat-pad coming from a blatant brainfade.

The match was about 45mins away from meandering into stalemate territory, but either way I don't think the pitch is going to organically produce a result. Still gonna come down to how aggressive Knight is tactically, and at least she has the impetus to go for the jugular now.
 

RW

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Shafali Verma will be kicking herself getting out to that full toss... still a gun though...
 
No wickets in the final session, something wrong with that picture. Doesn't absolve the goof at the England selection table (18 of the 27 wickets came from spin), but this was yet again a really terrible pitch for women's Test cricket.

A team should have to play really well to make 350 on the 4th day, but India got there despite a parade of specialist batsmen throwing their wicket away--the Harmanpreet Kaur slog sweep being the most unfathomable. And though whatever will be will be, Sneh Rana Rana should've got Player of the Match.
 

RW

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The women should play more Tests if it generates interest in the longer form of the game. Agree about the pitch though.
 
The women should play more Tests if it generates interest in the longer form of the game. Agree about the pitch though.
100%. It'll suck in 50 years when women are playing Tests regularly to look back and bemoan that a star like Perry retired with a small handful of Tests to her name.
 
A Bombaystic pitch helping India to their first win of the series v England, with Raj ensuring the chance wouldn't slip by bucking the trend through a show of composure at the crease, and in the process overtaking Charlotte Edwards as the highest run scorer in women's internationals. Her 84th win as an ODI captain too, which takes her past the 83 managed by Belinda Clark.

Mandhana also played pretty well and took a nice diving catch, in contrast to Kaur's continuing drought with the bat and Verma's unpreparedness in the field. The latter is set to play two domestic competitions in the same team as Erin Burns over the next few months, so a bit of one-on-one time at training would make that a nice fit.

Fit, you say? Brings me to the T20 between the West Indies and Pakistan the other day, which gave a new meaning to collapso cricket. And I'm not making a cheap joke, rather the real joke is the health "care" these players are apparently receiving. For starters, isn't it a basic first aid principle that you don't try to hold somebody down while they're having a seizure. But nah, just strap her to an unstable gurney, she'll be right...
 
Google telling me perfect weather for tonight's (3.30am AEST) decider between England and India, the T20 leg hanging in the balance and the multi-format series as a whole could still end in a draw (if the visitors win).

So no chance of rain interrupting this one. Unlike the first T20 which was a real shame because, although England had the match on their terms the whole way, it was delivering the goods as a cricket spectacle. For instance, the catch taken by Harleen Deol. Wait, what do you mean "what catch?" or "who dat?", even SportsCenter be getting around it and her...

 
100 MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS IN WOMEN'S CRICKET

Here's how I spent my weekend. Yes, it doesn't look like it should have taken so long, but I wanted to get it right. And now it is. 100% scientific factual accuracy. Scroll all the way down to the end for a colour-coded list if that's more to your liking.

100 Kim Garth (AUS) I can think of quite a few players well advanced in their pursuit of a national contract (such as Bridget Patterson, Georgia Redmayne and Maitlan Brown) but, of course, there’s always the option for Garth to return to Ireland and make a splash on the world stage that way.

99 Jahanara Alam (BAN) Yet to have the chance to bounce back from a fairly horrendous 2020 T20 World Cup.

98 Sheneta Grimmond (WI/GUY) Bringing raw talent to the table and not much else. Worth noting which nations the West Indies players come from, with only one to be represented at next year’s CommGames T20 tournament.

97 Grace Harris (AUS) Good opportunity to explain my criteria: Basically comes down to using what I’ve seen in the past to predict who will have the biggest impact on women’s cricket in the future which, to me, first and foremost means performance in the big international matches/series/tournaments. So even though Harris is a much better player than a lot of names on this list, her ranking here is largely affected by her slim (not non-existent, mind you) chance of getting back into the Australian team.

96 Fran Wilson (ENG)
Played a key T20 innings vs New Zealand in March which was, to date, her last game for England.

95 Lauren Down (NZL) Solid option to open the batting for the upcoming 50-over World Cup, potentially giving more freedom for Devine later in an innings.

94 Nida Dar (PAK)
Usually pretty tidy with the ball and tends to be the player saving the day (and/or averting disaster) with the bat.

93 Frances Mackay (NZL) Alternatively, New Zealand could leave Devine at the top of the order and give her all-round, albeit rather agricultural, relief via Mackay.

92 Tazmin Brits (RSA) Latecomer to cricket with excellent performances against Pakistan this year but otherwise not many runs on the board.

91 Katey Martin (NZL) Nearing the end of her career. Wouldn’t be on this list if not for a knack of lifting in games against Australia.




90 Heather Graham (AUS) The highest-ranked West Australian on the list. Bowling more suited to T20 cricket and batting more suited to the 50-over stuff, therefore always in the conversation for a national call-up and rarely getting it.

89 Lauren Winfield-Hill (ENG) Perhaps not posing a threat at the top of the ODI order as much of a potential nuisance.

88 Molly Strano (AUS) One positive from her WBBL|06 struggles: if it happened a season sooner, she probably would have lost the chance to play in a world cup on home soil.

87 Sneh Rana (IND) A lot of India’s selection decisions seem scatterbrained to me. Feels like they could just as quickly pivot back to somebody like Veda Krishnamurthy even though Rana’s shown a certain level of comfort at international level to make me question why she wasn’t persisted with five years ago (or given another chance sooner).

86 Chloe Tryon (RSA) Definitely falls into the that’s-just-the-way-she-plays category—i.e. would greatly benefit from some decent coaching.

85 Kate Cross (ENG) Dangerous seamer on the right pitch.

84 & 83 Tahlia McGrath (AUS) & Freya Davies (ENG) Mid-20s all-arounders haven’t done much wrong with their surprisingly limited opportunities.

82 & 81 Hayley Jensen (NZL) & Nicola Carey (AUS) Late-20s all-rounders starting to make a better fist of a surprisingly generous number of opportunities.




80 Nashra Sandhu (PAK)
Couldn’t decide between Bismah Maroof (currently on maternity leave) and Javeria Khan (three years older, doesn’t bowl). Ended up going with the erratic left-arm spinner for my last Pakistan pick. Thought about it again, moved a few things around, now she’s my second-last Pakistan pick.

79 Nigar Sultana (BAN) Scored an unbeaten 101 (both off about 130 balls) in two-out-of-three matches against a South African Emerging XI back in April, lining up with the small amount of top-level cricket I’ve seen her play.

78-76 Kavisha Dilhari (SL), Shabika Gajnabi (WI/GUY), Murshida Khatun (BAN) Bringing solid fundamentals to the table and not much else.

75-72 Kathryn Bryce (SCO), Belinda Vakarewa (AUS), Issy Wong (ENG), Tumi Sekhukhune (RSA) With the game’s general need for more young bowlers coming off the long run, women’s cricket would get a two-for-one boost if that also meant this assortment of Spice Girls all realising their full potential.

71 Amanda-Jade Wellington (AUS) Too easy for national selectors to overlook due to her fielding ability.




70 Omaima Sohail (PAK) Played a match-winning knock of 61 against the West Indies a few days ago—Pakistan’s first win of the tour (after seven attempts).

69-67 Ayabonga Khaka (RSA), Aliya Riaz (PAK), Punam Raut (IND) Quality role players over the journey, currently unclear futures.

66-62 Shakera Selman (WI/BAR), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (IND), Lea Tahuhu (NZL), Anya Shrubsole (ENG), Lizelle Lee (RSA) Quality role players over the journey who have encountered some unfavourable fortunes, but that old saying about making one’s own luck does spring to mind.

61 Amy Satterthwaite (NZL)




60-56 Jhulan Goswami (IND), Anisa Mohammed (WI/TT), Mithali Raj (IND), Rachael Haynes (AUS), Katherine Brunt (ENG)
Stalwarts who are probably six-to-twelve months away from retirement.

55 Courtney Webb (AUS) Potentially coming into a make-or-break summer. If she can back up her coming-of-age 2020/21 season and maybe even take it a step further, then it’s a wrap—she’ll be the first Tassie woman to play for her country since… Kim Fazackerley?

54 & 53 Arundhati Reddy (IND) & Jess Kerr (NZL) Not quite ready to be consistent performers for their country but worth investing games in them.

52 & 51 Hannah Darlington (AUS) & Rosemary Mair (NZL) Admittedly, some players never grow up and pull their head in. That said, what happens when youngsters notorious for a temperament beyond their years become not-so-young. Their level-headedness becomes a little less impressive, and their viability as international players ultimately still rests on the work they’ve done to address their weaknesses in the meantime.




50 & 49 Josie Dooley (AUS) & Richa Ghosh (IND) Given that wicket-keepers are kinda like rolls of toilet paper to me—I only pay attention to their presence when s**t gets messy—picking the best up-and-comer is pretty straightforward.

48 Fatima Sana (PAK) Originally had her in that low-70s range but she backed up a four-wicket haul with her first Pfeiffer this morning to seal Pakistan’s second win on the trot.

47 & 46 Jemimah Rodrigues (IND) & Phoebe Litchfield (AUS) Some maturation required.

45-42 Poonam Yadav (IND), Sune Luus (RSA), Shikha Pandey (IND), Leigh Kasperek (NZL) Players who should be considered on the same level as the 31-41 rankings but, for the most part, aren’t.

41-31 Mignon du Preez (RSA), Danni Wyatt (ENG), Chamari Atapattu (SL), Harmanpreet Kaur (IND), Amy Jones (ENG), Dane van Niekerk (RSA), Sophie Devine (NZL), Megan Schutt (AUS), Deandra Dottin (WI/BAR), Tammy Beaumont (ENG), Alyssa Healy (AUS) Devastating players on their day who have really bad track records in high pressure moments and/or are just generally too inconsistent.




30 Ayeesha Naseem (PAK) The excitement of a teen Pakistani sensation bursting onto the scene is quickly accompanied by thoughts of the terrible and all-too-possible dangers of mismanagement that lie in wait.

29 Annabel Sutherland (AUS) As the technically correct crease-occupier, she could very well be on the way to cementing a key position in the Aussie line-up. But as a frontline bowler—the other part of the all-round puzzle for which some (including the great one herself) have likened Sutherland as Perry’s heir—forget about it, not a chance.

28-24 Maddy Villiers (ENG), Radha Yadav (IND), Nadine de Klerk (RSA), Deepti Sharma (IND), Sophia Dunkley (ENG) Reliable rising stars for whom the ceiling is the limit.

23 & 22 Tayla Vlaeminck (AUS) & Darcie Brown (AUS) The flipside to my comments about Sutherland’s value as a frontline bowler: it won’t be required of her anyway, as long as the Bendigo Bullet or the Kapunda Cannon is in service.

21 Shafali Verma (IND) Can’t hide her in the field, can’t erase the memory of a lot of awful-looking dismissals.




20 Hayley Matthews (WI/BAR)
The most disappointing player of the last 5 years.

19 Diana Baig (PAK) Not on the same level as those ranked 10-18 but, at 25yo and still making notable improvements, there’s a slight inkling she eventually can be.

18 Shabnim Ismail (RSA) Turning 33 in October, could’ve fooled me.

17 & 16 Suzie Bates (NZL) & Heather Knight (ENG) Unwriteoffable.

15 Meg Lanning (AUS) Players who can’t throw the ball but can throw their back out by sneezing… get a minimum five-place ranking penalty.

14-11 Marizanne Kapp (RSA), Ellyse Perry (AUS), Stafanie Taylor (WI/JAM), Nat Sciver (ENG) Tough to guess how many laps of the track each of these overworked thoroughbreds have left, so I’ve just arranged them by DOB.




10 Jess Jonassen (AUS) Though the maestro has had more than her fair share of injury battles, she makes this T20 left-arm orthodox gig look like a racket that could easily be milked for another ten years.

9 Sophie Ecclestone (ENG) England’s most useful tool.

8 Sophie Molineux (AUS) Despite running drinks throughout the team’s most recent tour, I’m still backing her in as a 33% chance (equal to the odds I’ve also prescribed for Mooney and Darlington) to be Australia’s next captain, which is just one of many reasons why I’m glad to see the Bairnsdale Bulldozer take on the job at the Renegades.

7 Sarah Glenn (ENG) England blew it in their last Test by not picking her.

6 Georgia Wareham (AUS) Australia blew it in their last Test by not picking her.

5 Amelia Kerr (NZL) The worst-coached young spinner going around, rarely given many favours in terms of the expectations placed on her as an all-rounder too. Both problems stemming from the fact that there’s not much she can’t do, which is the main metric I’ve used to arrange my rankings in this 4-9 range.

4 Ashleigh Gardner (AUS) Rather than a smooth diagonal line, her trajectory of improvement takes the form of an inconveniently structured staircase. Long flat spots interrupted with a sudden impossibly steep rise. Those major breakthroughs have been rare but timely, and they’ve manifested in green-and-gold which helps to distance her from the woeful magenta-coloured Gardner of the past three WBBL seasons.

3 Laura Wolvaardt (RSA) Yet to fully figure out her game in all conditions, curiously plays much better on low-and-slow pitches.

2 Smriti Mandhana (IND) Reserving the pointy end of this list for three willow-whackers is something I’d object to if we were talking about men’s cricket. Alas, limited overs rules the girls’ game and therefore so do the top-order players.

1 Beth Mooney (AUS) Though I’ve dedicated significant portions of my list to those who are likely to be the dominant players a decade from now, let it be known that the present is no less important. Plus, it’s a lot easier to predict the next 12 months than crystal balling the next 12 years. Thus, if I have to throw my money on any one player to have an impact in any given game, why not make it the world’s best run-compiler of the last little while. The fact that Mooney hasn’t done much in ODI cricket since the start of the 2019/20 season could be used against her, but she should clearly be opening the batting for Australia and I’m not going to penalise her for being undervalued by others.

100mvpwomencricket.png


The number of listed players for each country are as follows...

25 - Australia
16 - England
15 - India
12 - New Zealand, South Africa
7 - Pakistan, West Indies
3 - Bangladesh
2 - Sri Lanka
1 - Scotland
 
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Scratchy05

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How do you judge most valuable. I assume you factor in age but then I'm shocked Ash Gardiner isn't number one. Powerful middle order hitter who can bowl and very marketable. Why not just do a top 100 players list? Much less arbitrary that way.

Also, feel Kim Garth should be about 50 spots higher. Awesome first season in Australia and should be in our top 15 players for our national team, ahead of options like Sutherland & McGrath.
 
How do you judge most valuable.
I think I've already explained that, especially in the Grace Harris blurb.

I'm shocked Ash Gardiner isn't number one. Powerful middle order hitter who can bowl and very marketable.
Again, I've already shared the view that reliable top-order batsmen are the most valuable players in women's cricket. Only got her so high on the list because I see her possessing, and gradually harnessing, the potential to become that.

Why not just do a top 100 players list?
Top of what?

Also, feel Kim Garth should be about 50 spots higher. Awesome first season in Australia and should be in our top 15 players for our national team, ahead of options like Sutherland & McGrath.
An awesome first season for Dandenong*, given she didn't even play WBBL. So if I'm off by 50, it's in the other direction.

And the national selectors should definitely not be, and never will be, giving a fringe spot in the squad to a 25yo bowling all-rounder ahead of a 19yo identified as their next no.3 bat.

*as accurate as saying it was her first season in Australia
 
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