Author: Syd Egan

OPINION: Legitimate Questions Regarding “Full Time Professional” Status of England Contracts

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Our colleague Martin Davies has taken some stick from the Guardian’s Cricket Correspondent Mike Selvey for asking how much the England women’s contracts are worth in financial terms:

With all due deference to Mr Selvey, we feel this is a legitimate question for one key reason – rumour has it that the Tier 3 contracts are not a full-time living wage. We should stress that this is only a rumour; but the fact that the ECB could if it wanted easily scotch such tittle-tattle but chooses not to, perhaps tells its own story? (After all, they seem happy enough for the men’s salaries to… um… “slip out“.)

Does this really matter? Yes and no! We certainly don’t have a problem with the concept of “part time” contracts, which require players to have “second jobs” as well to support themselves – this very web site is run and financed on just such a basis.

However we keep being told that England’s women cricketers are “full-time professionals”; and yet it is hard to be a “full-time professional” if your “full-time professional” job pays less than a full-time living wage.

So are the 19 really “full time professionals”? Until we know how much the T3 contracts are worth, the answer is that we genuinely don’t know… and that’s why it was a legitimate question to ask.

NEWS: Fran Wilson Awarded England Contract

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Middlesex’s Fran Wilson has been awarded a central contract by the ECB, joining the otherwise unchanged list of 18 (now 19) players.

The 24-year-old Wilson last played for England in 2011, and recently moved from Division 2 Somerset to Division 1 Middlesex, with the aim of winning back her England place.

She was the only non-contracted player selected in a squad for last summer’s Women’s Ashes; but was restricted to a “12th Man” appearance in the field at Canterbury during the Test.

However, her rich form in domestic cricket – she was one of only 3 women to score a County Championship Division 1 century last season – has now been rewarded by England and it would seem highly likely that she will subsequently be a part of the squad to face South Africa in February.

WBBL: Heather’s Hurricanes Hit Hunexpected Heights

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Although we are a quarter-way through the WBBL, the lopsided nature of the schedule means it is difficult to really know where we are, with Brisbane Heat having played six matches and Sydney Thunder just one. Nevertheless, one thing is clear: the bookies who had Heather Knight’s Hobart Hurricanes at 16/1 are now starting to look rather nervously at their wallets!

The Hurricanes played four games over the weekend and came away with 4 wins – two apiece against Danni Wyatt’s Melbourne Renegades and Sarah Taylor’s Adelaide Strikers – Knight leading the way with two Man of the Match awards.

Standout performance of the weekend however … and very possibly of the entire tournament… goes to Brisbane Heat’s Grace Harris, who smashed 103 off just 55 balls, with 14 4s and 4 6s, as the Heat dumped Laura Marsh’s Sydney Sixers firmly to the bottom of the table – played four, won none.

Team Played Points
1. Hobart Hurricanes 4 8
2. Brisbane Heat 6 6
3. Melbourne Stars 2 4
4. Perth Scorchers 3 4
5. Sydney Thunder 1 2
6. Adelaide Strikers 2 0
7. Melbourne Renegades 2 0
8. Sydney Sixers 4 0

NEWS: World T20 Groups Announced – England Face West Indies & India

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The groups for next year’s World T20 in India have been announced by the ICC.

In Group A, Australia are drawn with New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Ireland.

Meanwhile in Group B, England will do-battle with India and the West Indies, as well as underdogs Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Just two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-final stage, so there’s little margin for error – in England’s case, a slip-up against India for example, could make things very interesting!

The full schedule can be found here.

NEWS: Ireland & Scotland Stars Kim Garth, Laura Delany & Rachel Scholes Get WBBL Rookie Shot

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Ireland’s Kim Garth and Scotland’s Rachel Scholes, along with five other players from the Associate nations, have been officially announced for the inaugural WBBL “Rookie” program, with the opportunity to spend two weeks training with a WBBL side.

Garth will team-up with Heather Knight at the Hobart Hurricanes, whilst Scholes is headed to Sydney with Ellyse Perry’s Sixers.

Scotland player-coach Kari Carswell told CRICKETher:

“We are delighted that Rachel is going to be playing a part in the first WBBL as a rookie player.  The environment that she is stepping into is totally different to anything she will have experienced before and I know she is really looking forward to getting out to Australia and meeting her new team mates.  Rachel performed well in Thailand and is a hard worker, I’m sure all the girls in Scotland will be looking out for her team’s scores.”

Meanwhile, intriguingly, the Perth Scorchers have yet to formally announce the identity of their rookie; but we have an inkling that it just might be another Irish player – all-rounder Laura Delany – after she posted this on Twitter:

NEWS: Bangladesh & Ireland Qualify For World T20

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Bangladesh and Ireland have qualified for next year’s World T20 in India, after winning their respective semi-finals in the qualifying tournament in Thailand.

In the first semi-final, Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 31 runs. Batting first, the Tigers posted 89-5 with Fargana Hoque hitting 43 off 43 balls as they recovered from 10-3. Leg spinner Rumana Ahmed then took 4-8 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 58.

In the other semi-final, Ireland beat Scotland by 9 wickets. Scotland posted 77-9, with opener Fi Urquhart top-scoring with 21 off 32 balls, as 16-year-old seamer Lucy O’Reilly took 3-16 to help keep the Wildcats under par.

Ireland made short work of their response, as Cecelia Joyce (36*) and Clare Shillington (34) put on 58 for the first wicket, with the Irish then reaching their target at 79-1 with a whopping 51 balls to spare.

Bangladesh and Ireland will now contest the qualifying final on Saturday and then join the “Big 8” at the World T20 in India next March.

By The Numbers – WBBL

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  • 0 – The amount you’ll have to pay to watch the first 4 Hurricanes games, with free entry at Aurora Stadium.
  • 1 – The number of England players guaranteed to be involved in the Big Final at the end of January.
  • 3 – The number of overseas players each side is permitted to field in any match.
  • 8 – The number of matches to broadcast live on Australian TV.
  • 8 – The number of teams fighting for a place in the Big Final.
  • 10 – The number of England players involved*.
  • 24 – The total number of overseas stars signed-up**.
  • 51 – The number of days the tournament lasts.
  • 59 – The number of matches to be played.
  • 10,000 – The minimum amount (in Australian $) a player involved in WNCL + WBBL will earn this season.
  • 14,160 – The number of balls scheduled to be bowled! (But there could be super overs!)
  • 2.2 million – The size of the player payment fund (in Australian $) established for the tournament.
  • 1 billion – How excited we are… on a scale of 1-to-10!

* Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Charlotte Edwards, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver, Sarah Taylor, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt, Laura Marsh & Nicky Shaw. [Though re. “3”, we believe Nicky Shaw doesn’t technically count as an “overseas”, having lived in Australia for a number of years now.]

** Rachel Priest, Sara McGlashan, Amy Satterthwaite, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk, Mignon du Preez, Susie Bates, Hayley Matthews, Deandra Dottin, Sophie Devine, Stafanie Taylor, Stacy-Ann King, Morna Nielsen & Hayley Jensen.

NEWS: Summer 2016 Schedule v Pakistan – No Test But Full TV Coverage

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The ECB have announced the schedule for Pakistan’s tour of England next year, comprising 3 Women’s International Championship ODIs and 3 T20s.

  • Monday 20th June – ODI @ Leicester
  • Wednesday 22nd June – ODI @ Worcester
  • Monday 27th June – ODI @ Taunton
  • Sunday 3rd July – T20 @ Bristol
  • Tuesday 5th July – T20 @ Hampshire
  • Thursday 7th July – T20 @ Chelmsford

As widely expected, there is no Test match; but the good news is that we are promised once again full, ball-by-ball Sky and BBC coverage.

Sky are under no contractual obligation to broadcast Women’s ODIs/ T20s; but CRICKETher has been told by a reliable source that they were reasonably happy with viewing figures from last summer, and this appears to confirm the broadcaster’s commitment to continuing to build an audience for the women’s game.

WNCL Final – Scorpions’ Victory Taylor Made

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South Australia Scorpions (264-7) bt. New South Wales Breakers (210)

A man-of-the-match century from England’s Sarah Taylor gave the South Australia Scorpions their first WNCL championship as they took on the New South Wales Breakers in this year’s final at the Hurstville Oval in Sydney.

Batting first, the Scorpions made 264 from their 50 overs – the heart of which was a 2nd-wicket partnership of 181 between Bridget Patterson (74) and Sarah Taylor, who hit her 110 off just 106 balls.

In reply, the Breakers’ innings never really quite took off. Alyssa Healy (37) made a start but was unable to push on; and wickets continued to fall as the Breakers slipped further behind the rate. Despite a late rallying 58 off 38 balls from Naomi Stalenberg coming in at 8, NSW were bowled out more than fifty runs short in the 46th over.

The Scorpions’ victory ends the New South Wales Breakers’ decade-long WNCL winning streak and avenges last year’s final defeat.

ANALYSIS: WNCL – Livin’ In A Batsman’s Paradise?

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As the 2015/16 Australian WNCL draws to a conclusion this weekend, one statistic stands out above all others: 11 centuries have been scored in 21 matches. In contrast, in this year’s Women’s County Championship (Division 1) just 3 hundreds were scored in 32 (completed) games.

It’s not just down to a couple of individuals either – 9 different players have made tons; and the team aggregates reflect a similar trend – the average innings score in the WNCL has been a shade over 200; in the WCC it was 158 – a difference of a staggering 27%.

The question is… why?

Better Batsmen? Australia are the world’s Number 1 team and much of that is down to their super-confident batting – they didn’t really outbowl England this summer; but they certainly out-batted them. However, some of the WNCL’s centurions (Alex Blackwell (twice) and Sarah Taylor) also played in the WCC without making hundreds, so there must be more to it!

Lesser Bowlers? As the batsmen are Australia’s key weapon, so the bowlers are England’s! Perhaps it is just harder to score centuries against the likes of Katherine Brunt and Holly Colvin? Although are Megan Schutt and Ellyse Perry really that much of an easier ride?

Better Pitches? Whilst the WCC is hosted mostly on club grounds maintained by part-time ground staff on very low budgets, WNCL is played largely on professionally curated “First Class” pitches, including Test grounds like the WACA and the Gabba. Inevitably, these Aussie pitches will play truer than those in England, especially when combined with…

Better Climate? Although at least one match in this year’s WNCL was played in very wet (one might even say, English!) conditions, in the main (as anyone who watches Neighbours knows) Australia is the land where the sun always shines; and the only thing that disappears faster than a beer at a BBQ, is a cricket ball to the boundary over a lightning-quick outfield. Illustratively, WNCL’s leading run-scorer, Ellyse Perry, scored 42% of her runs in 4s – significantly more than her English equivalent, Heather Knight – 36%.

More “Professional” Teams? With two fewer teams in WNCL, there’s a greater concentration of good players and maybe this creates a more competitive environment which encourages more attacking play? Also, anecdotally if not empirically, the teams certainly seem more “professionally” set up in WNCL – training harder, more regularly, and for longer, with better facilities both in and out of season, than the English county sides.

Whatever the reasons, one thing is for sure – it has made for a fantastic WNCL and it bodes well for the WBBL which begins next month. Hundreds are obviously that much harder to score in T20, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two made as we build our way towards that big, televised finale at the end of January!