All 8 WBBL teams went into this weekend’s round of games level on 2 points, with only Net Run Rate separating them; but things are starting to open up a bit now, with the Stars and the Hurricanes leading the way.

In Melbourne, the Stars took on the Sixers, with the Sixers big names failing to fire – Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry and Dane van Niekerk made less than 20 runs between them over the two matches, with van Niekerk recording two ducks, as the Stars won both games with plenty to spare – Meg Lanning making runs in the first, whilst Jess Cameron and Katie Mack got the job done chasing in the second.

On the other side of Melbourne, things were somewhat closer as the Renegades took on the Hurricanes, but it was the Hurricanes who took the points on both occasions. In the first match, Amy Satterthwaite made 45 off 43 balls as the Hurricanes posted 133 – the Renegades falling just 4 short in their chase; whilst in the second, Satterthwaite was again in the runs, with 52 off 41 balls, and this time the Renegades took it to the first ever WBBL Super Over. For the Renegades, Rachel Priest and Grace Harris hit 12 off their Super Over, bowled by Satterthwaite, and the New Zealander… ever in on the action… was then out first ball of the Hurricanes reply, leaving it to Hayley Matthews and Erin Burns to carry it home, with Burns hitting a match-winning 4 off the final ball.

In Sydney, the Thunder hosted the Strikers, with the weather taking the points in the first match. In the second, a sub-par total of 102 from the Thunder was easily chased-down by the Strikers. The Strikers were without Charlotte Edwards, who pulled out after the warm-up with back spasms, but Sophie Devine’s 43 off 33 balls created a match-winning position from which Tahlia McGrath and Shelley Nitschke were able to get over the line with cool heads and no real alarms.

Finally, over at the WACA in Perth, honours were shared between the Scorchers and the Heat. The Scorchers cruised to an easy victory in the first game, Nicole Bolton leading the way with 46* off 43; but the tables were turned the following day as the Scorchers were held to just 94, keeper-opener Beth Mooney then chasing them down almost single-handedly with 67* to win the game for the Heat inside 13 overs.

England glove-butler Sarah Taylor, who has not played any cricket since the World T20 last March, has her sights set on a return to the national team in time for next summer’s World Cup in England.

Taylor admitted last May that she had been suffering for years from anxiety, affecting not just her cricket but all areas of her life; and she announced that she would be taking an extended break from the game in order to prioritise her recovery.

The ECB promised their support at the time, and they have shown continued faith in Taylor now by renewing her contract for a further two years, with coach Mark Robinson expressing his hopes today for her return:

“Sarah is doing really well with her return to cricket plan after taking some time away from the game for health reasons. Her aim has always been to be back playing and available for selection for the World Cup next summer, and we’ll continue to offer her the support she needs to achieve that goal.”

Although Taylor’s road to recovery has not been quick or easy, CRICKETher understands that corners have recently been turned, and just last week she tweeted a smiling selfie announcing that she had “kicked anxietys ass” in a visit to a shopping centre – hopefully more asses will be kicked again soon… ideally those of England’s opponents at the World Cup!

After a frantic opening weekend, the sextuple-header at North Sydney Oval finished with 6 teams sharing 2 points at the top of the WBBL table.

Hayley Matthews starred with 48 off 38 balls as the Hurricanes beat the Scorchers in the opening game on Saturday; but the Scorchers got their own back the following day as a fifty from Elyse Villani set up a total of 142-4 – the Hurricanes falling well short in the chase, as Katherine Brunt, bowling with good pace, took 2-18.

https://twitter.com/HurricanesWBBL/status/807403874369667072

Charlotte Edwards and Tammy Beaumont scored just 3 runs off 5 balls between them as the Strikers were reduced to 21-4 against the unfancied Renegades, but the Strikers were bailed-out by Sophie Devine (43 off 38) to finish on 116, which they defended thanks to 4 run-outs in the field as the Renegades were bowled out for 102.

Like the Scorchers. however, the Renegades got their revenge the next day, despite 31 off 28 from Edwards and another blitz of 41 off 27 from Devine, the Renegades chased-down 128, with Danni Wyatt finishing on 34* off 32 balls.

In Saturday’s other match, Meg Lanning was eclipsed by fellow opener Emma Inglis, who struck 46 off 28 balls to set the Stars up for victory against the Thunder, despite a near-miracle WBBL debut from Harmanpreet Kaur, smashing 47* off 28 as the Thunder fell just 6 runs short.

Sunday’s final match saw the Sixers take on the Heat, setting them 138, with Alyssa Healy (48 off 42) and Ellyse Perry (42 off 42) doing the work early-doors. In reply, it wasn’t looking good for the Heat – after 10 overs they were just 46-4, with the required rate well over 9-an-over – but enter Deandra Dottin with the performance of the tournament so far – 60* off 44 balls to win the game.

https://twitter.com/HeatWBBL/status/807831266854715392

Overall then, a brilliant opening weekend, reflected in the viewing figures, with an average of 400,000 watching the two prime-time matches on free-to-air TV, peaking at over 600,000; whilst about 6,000 fans came through the turnstiles at North Sydney.

Back here in the UK all matches were shown live, either on BT Sport* or free online. Our only complaint would be the scheduling: Cricket Australia really need to do something about their time-zone, perhaps even consider moving it slightly – about 12 hours ought to do, or these all-nighters are going to kill us 😉

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* For the information of our overseas readers, BT Sport is a pay-channel which is available on-line for £5 a month on a 12-month contract. BT Sport have exclusive rights to all the “TV” matches, which will include the semis and final – these matches are region-locked in the UK otherwise – so we coughed, and consider it well worth it!

The Women’s Big Bash is back – bigger and bashier than ever! Last year, the Sydney Thunder lifted the trophy; but who will triumph this season? Will the Heat burn? The Stars shine? Or the Hurricanes blow? Read on to find out…

Brisbane Heat

Last Year: 6th

The Heat’s two English overseas have both departed – Kate Cross has not had the best year, so that wasn’t unexpected; but to lose Lauren Winfield, who has been in great form for England, looks careless to say the least. Winfield’s replacement, Smriti Mandhana, is a classy-looking player, but perhaps not best-suited to T20 – she averages 18 in T20 internationals at a Strike Rate of under 100 – Winfield averages 24 at a Strike Rate well over 100. The Heat’s hopes must rest largely on Jess Jonassen, who is probably the leading bowler in the world game right now, and Deandra Dottin, who needs no introduction; but much beyond that, they lack the strength in depth required to go long in such an intense competition.

Prediction: Group Stages

Hobart Hurricanes

Last Year: Semi-Finals

The Hurricanes have stuck with pretty-much exactly the same squad that defied expectations to power through to the semi-finals last season. In Heather Knight, they have a captain who will lead from the front; and if Hayley Matthews needed an introduction to Aussie fans last time out, she won’t now, after having run the Southern Stars through with a broadsword in the T2o World Cup Final back in April. But with other teams having strengthened, the likelihood has to be for a group-placed finish for the ‘Cane Train this time around.

Prediction: Group Stages

Melbourne Renegades

Last Year: 8th

After taking home the wooden spoon last year, the Renegades have marched then-captain Sarah Elliot behind the woodshed, replacing her with New Zealander Rachel Priest; and added an extra scoop to the batting sundae, in the shape of Southern Star Grace “Bomber” Harris – the only woman to score a century in WBBL|01. Danni Wyatt is back – though she continues to struggle for England, she has propsered in Australia in the past at Vic Spirit, so the potential match-winners are there, but beyond the big names, they look very fragile indeed.

Prediction: Group Stages

Perth Scorchers

Last Year: Semi-Finals

The Western Fury had a torrid time in the WNCL, finishing bottom of the table on nul points, after failing to win a game; but having lined-up a very strong overseas contingent of Suzie Bates, Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, alongside a strong native top order headed-up by Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani, they must have been hoping for better things from the Scorchers. Unfortunately, however, Anya Shrubsole is still injured unavailable (see comments), and although she is theoretically coming back for the latter stages of the competition, you wouldn’t bet your last sixpence on it, and her replacement – Becky Grundy – just isn’t in the same class.

Prediction: Group Stages

Melbourne Stars

Last Year: 5th

In WBBL 1, the Stars were a bit of a one-woman show, and their early elimination essentially proved the old adage that cricket is a game played by eleven players not one, even if that one player is Meg Lanning! They are bolstered this year by Jess Cameron’s return to the leather and willow, and although they have lost Kristen Beams to injury, Dani Hazell is a pretty good replacement. They’ve also got Nat Sciver returning, who perhaps disappointed slightly in terms of runs last year, but more than made up for it with the ball, taking 18 wickets – if she can replicate her recent England form with the bat, the Stars are in with a big shout this time around.

Prediction: Semi-Finals

Sydney Thunder

Last Year: Winners

The Thunder topped the group stages last year, with 9 wins from their 14 league games, and went on to win the competition, beating the Sixers with 3 balls to spare in a low-scoring, and slightly anticlimactic, final. Unsurprisingly, they’ve kept pretty-much the same team this season, with Stafanie Taylor returning, having won the T20 World Cup and KSL Player of the Tournament in the meantime. Their one big signing is the new Indian T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Harmanpreet had a brilliant recent T20 series with the bat versus the West Indies, making 68*, 43 and 60*, although India did lose the series 3-0; so it will be interesting to see if she brings that form with her, or her slightly more recent Asia Cup form, where India won the tournament, but she averaged just 12.

Prediction: Semi-Finals

Adelaide Strikers

Last Year: 7th

After disappointing last season, the Strikers have strengthened their batting line-up with Charlotte Edwards, who turns 37 later this month, but remains one of the best in the world, averaging 52 in WNCL, including a century against Queensland Fire; and Tammy Beaumont, who on good batting tracks with fairly short boundaries will be able to turn on the kind of attacking game she played against Pakistan last summer, and could be the signing of WBBL. Plus, with Megan Schutt, Sarah Coyte and Amanda-Jade Wellington, they’ve got enough quality bowling options to take them all the way to the final.

Prediction: Final

Sydney Sixers

Last Year: Final

Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Sara McGlashan, Lisa Sthalekar… you’d mug your own grandmother to have any one of them on your team, and the Sixers have got all of them – the other 5 players in the XI might hardly matter! Of course, Lisa Sthalekar has been semi-retired for a fair while now; and it looks like Sara McGlashan’s international career is over too, having been left out of recent New Zealand squads building towards the 2017 World Cup – but don’t count either of them out of making a big impact – experience matters, as we saw in the Kia Super League. But the key is Ellyse Perry – she is quite literally on top of the world right now, batting ridiculous numbers, and continuing to make a contribution with the ball, albeit at a more measured pace than she once did – her confidence is sky-high, and if there is one player who can win it on her own, she is it.

Prediction: Winners

The New South Wales Breakers, led by Australian vice-captain Alex Blackwell, beat the Queensland Fire, captained by Delissa Kimmince, in a one-sided WNCL final overnight.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat, the Fire got off to the worst possible start as their big-hitting wicket-keeper batsman Beth Mooney was caught at slip off the very first ball from Rene Farrell. Farrell went on to take two further wickets in a man-of-the-match-winning opening spell which, along with the run out of Kirby Short, reduced the Fire to 40-4 inside 9 overs. Jess Jonassen (21) Kimmince (24) and Jemma Barsby (30) fought back a bit, but the pressure to get runs on the board against a massive Breakers batting line-up was too much, and the Fire slumped to 119 all-out.

The Fire needed a miracle; but what they got was Alyssa Healy (56*) and Alex Blackwell (36*). In no mood to show mercy, the Breakers knocked off the runs in less than 25 overs, with Healy hitting the last 2 balls for 6 and 4 – slogging Delissa Kimmince back over her head on both occasions, with the confidence that comes from knowing you are sealing your 18th WNCL title in the 21 years the competition has been running in its current format.

PS – Massive thanks and kudos to Cricket Australia for live-streaming this match at near-broadcast quality, and to Lisa Sthalekar and Mel Jones for keeping us company throughout – it really does make such a difference when the commentators actually know their women’s cricket and have an in-depth insight into the players and the teams involved.

PPS – There also appeared to be a bigger crowd than in previous years – perhaps the “WBBL Effect” rubbing-off on other areas of the domestic game?

Kent CCC have announced that captain Charlotte Edwards is to leave the county after 16 seasons and over 6,000 runs, during a period in which Kent have dominated the women’s county game.

In a statement released by the club, Edwards said:

“It’s been a really tough decision to leave Kent but ultimately I feel it’s the right decision for me and more importantly the current team. Having won the double in 2016 I feel this is a fitting end to my time as a Kent cricketer.”

“I would like to thank everyone at Kent County Cricket Club for all their support over the past 16 years. I’m immensely proud to have played for the county and what the team has achieved within that time.”

Edwards, who is currently in Australia playing WNCL/WBBL, was recently appointed as a management board director of Hampshire CCC and the Southern Vipers, and has committed herself to playing for the Vipers next year; but it is currently unknown if she will continue to play county cricket.

Have you ever dreamed of hitting Ellyse Perry for 6? Well now you can, with Big Bash 16 – the new, completely free, mobile game from the folks behind Don Bradman Cricket – which gives you the chance to have your own Big Bash in the palm of your hand, playing through a WBBL season with any one of the 8 women’s teams… or even one of the men’s teams, if you are that way inclined!

The first thing to say is that this game is genuinely “free” – there are no in-app purchases tugging at the purse-strings, or “third-party” ads.

All the players are present and correct, as far as we can see; but some of the likenesses are better than others. In the Hobart Hurricanes line-up, Hayley Matthews is spot-on and instantly recognisable; but Heather Knight is “generic girl with ponytail”… and even that is wrong! (Hint for next year’s BB17: Heather always bats with her hair tied up guys!)

This being cricket, there is batting and bowling to do; but all the fielding is automatic. Batting is fun and pacey, swiping across the screen to execute different shots; but bowling is a bit tedious and clunky – you have to place a marker for the length, and then when the ball is delivered you can then swipe to add outrageously “arcadey” swing or spin… and whatever you do Ellyse Perry still smashes it to the boundary, so at least that is realistic!!

Overall, you’d have to admit that on a gaming level, Big Bash 16 suffers from the problem of all cricket games, which is that it is really hard to replicate bowling in a manner that is in any way intuitive or exciting; and it just serves to remind us why the “king” of all mobile cricket games – Stick Cricket – dispensed with it entirely, and just focussed on the batting!

But still, the chance to play through a season with your favourite WBBL team feels like a another one of the Big Bash’s Big Breakthroughs – and considering the price (did we say… it’s free?) it’s more than worth every penny!

Get Big Bash 16 on iPhone/ iPad here and on Android here!

At the head of the field in our all-rounder rankings is Australia’s Ellyse Perry. Though only 26 years old, Perry has already sealed her place in history as probably the last person ever to play both football and cricket at the very top international levels of those games – the professional commitments required of both sports are now just too big for it to be likely that anyone will ever achieve this again.

Indeed, Perry herself has basically been frozen-out of international football in recent years for her refusal to commit to it as her one sport; but the Mathilda’s loss has been the Southern Stars gain, as Perry has marched up the batting rankings to become a true all-rounder – having made her debut back in 2007 at number 9, over the past year or so, with Lanning dropping down to 3, she has come in at 4, where she averages 111 in ODIs in 2016, whilst continuing to chip-in with the ball. TL;DR: She’s quite good!

At No. 2, Suzie Bates has continued to show the form that made her Wisden’s Woman Cricketer of the Year in 2015 – she also had a spectacular domestic season in England over the summer, winning the County Championship, T20 Cup, and the Super League – and her ability to adapt to English conditions, perhaps a little more adeptly than Perry did in her Super League stint, could be the key for New Zealand in next year’s World Cup.

England captain Heather Knight, at No. 3, has always been considered primarily a batsman, and indeed only starting bowling regularly at international level when a hamstring injury forced her a couple of years ago to adapt her medium-paced seamers to off-spin.

I was there the day that Knight first unleashed her off-spinners for Berkshire after returning from her injury, and with little change to her action, I remember messaging a friend and saying: “Heather is back bowling… but really, really slowly!” Later that afternoon, I was messaging again: “Heather’s got a 5-fer!”

This impact was soon also reflected at international level, and though she has been bowling a bit less recently, over the course of the Women’s International Championship her all-round contribution has been a key part of why England have won 70% of their matches in the competition.

Further down the list, we see a number of other players like Knight, who we also tend not to think of as all-rounders, but who have nonetheless made an all-round impact.

South Africa’s “official” all-rounder is new captain Dane van Niekerk; but it is actually “bowler” Marizanne Kapp who has made the bigger all-round contribution.

West Indies’ Deandra Dottin has the reputation as a destructive batsman, but whilst her batting has perhaps not quite been what it once was recently, she has made herself very handy with the ball.

Another “bowler” – South African leg-spinner Sune Luus – the leading wicket-taker in the world in 2016 – has forced her way up the order to open against Australia in their on-going series – scoring two 50s and earning the title of all-rounder in the process.

Ranking = Runs * Strike Rate * Wickets / Economy – Min 200 Runs + 10 Wickets

Subtitled “In Search of Yorkshire’s Grassroots Cricket”, journalist John Fuller’s first cricket book is a gentle meander through the hills and dales of the amatuer game in Fuller’s home county of Yorkshire.

During the summer of 2015, Fuller embarked upon something of a cricketing pilgrimage, visiting thirty-odd of the 778 registered clubs in the White Rose County, in an attempt to rediscover the soul of the game.

The result is this series of tales, typically beginning with a train journey, then a short walk to a ground great or small, at which tea is drunk for the love of tea, cake eaten for the love of cake, and cricket played for the love of cricket.

Given the title at the top of this site, it bears stating that this is not a book about “women’s” cricket – there is but a single chapter focussed on the women’s game, centered on a chilly County Championship clash between Middlesex and Yorkshire at Harrogate. (It is nonetheless a very interesting chapter, however, especially for one inside the game to see it from the perspective of the outsider.)

In fact, in some ways, this is not a book about cricket at all, but about the places where cricket is played. The evocative descriptions which will live with you long after you turn the final page, are not of cover drives or turning deliveries, but of red-brick pavilions, iron gates and wooden benches; the fading facades of the once-great Park Avenue in Bradford, where Don Bradman hit but a single run as Yorkshire took on the touring Australians in 1930; or the modern pavilion at Thirsk, close-by to where Thomas Lord (or “Lords” fame) was born, blending into the nearby racecourse “like an outbuilding containing horse feed or a stretched residential bungalow.”

All Wickets Great and Small is not a joyful book – but if a sense of melancholy pervades, it might only be because, in so many ways, the game of which Fuller goes in search, sadly really has seen better days. It is nevertheless, a book written with love and honesty, which is worthy of its place on any cricketing bookshelf.

As regular readers will know, it’s Spin City in women’s international cricket, these days more so than ever, and the top 6 players in our Women’s International Championship bowling rankings are all spinners.

Australia’s Jess Jonassen was the leading wicket-taker in the Championship, with 31 wickets, though she was a little bit more expensive than some: her best figures – a 5-fer against New Zealand – came at the expense of 50 runs off 9 overs that day.

At No.2 Anisa Mohammed – the first bowler ever (male or female) to take 100 wickets in T20 internationals – has been crucial to the West Indies’ cause in ODIs too, as they scrapped their way to the final direct World Cup qualification spot.

At No. 3, Rajeshwari Gayakwad is perhaps the surprise entry in the top 10 – an orthodox left-armer, she first really announced herself against England at Scarbados back in 2014, when she took 4-42, including the scalps of Sarah Taylor and Nat Sciver. She has been remarkably consistent throughout the Championship, taking 2 wickets here and 3 there, finishing with 2 more 4-fers in the series versus the West Indies.

England’s leading bowler across the Championship, at No.4, has been now-captain Heather Knight, but it is interesting to look at the graph of her bowling, match by match, over the course of the competition:

It shows that she has been bowling less and less – especially since she took over the captaincy. My experience watching Knight captain at Berkshire for many years suggests that she tends to bowl herself when she feels they are in trouble, which they rarely have been with the ball at least over the past year or so.

Ranking = Wickets / Economy