The Australian domestic calendar gets started next week, with a very different look to the new season. In fact, there are really two seasons: the 50-over, state-based Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) takes place in October/ November; and is then followed by the city-franchised T20 competition – the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) – in December/ January.

The WNCL begins on October 9th and it is a much shorter competition than in previous years, with each of the 7 sides playing each other just once, with the top two teams qualifying for the final on November 28th.

There is then a very short break before the WBBL gets underway on December 5th. The 8 franchises will play each other twice, with the top four qualifying for semi-finals (January 20th/ 21st) and then the grand final on January 24th.

Both seasons are pretty intense – particularly the WBBL, with 59 matches taking place over just 51 days – it demands a fully-professional commitment from the players; and in recognition of this, Cricket Australia continue to push towards a fully-professional compensation package in return.

A player who competes in both seasons will earn a minimum of $10,000 (about £4,600) and many will earn considerably more. With Cricket Australia having established a total player payment fund of over $2 million, that’s an average of around-about $24,000 (£11,000) per player for a 4-month season, albeit one with considerable “off season” demands.

Will this have the Porsche-dealers of Melbourne and Sydney cracking-open the champagne? Probably not! But on the road to a fully professional domestic game, it is a start, and a very good one too!

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the new official ICC Women’s Team Rankings announced today are headed by Australia – current leaders of the Women’s International Championship and holders of the World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the Women’s Ashes.

Interestingly however, beyond the top spot the rankings differ significantly from the Women’s International Championship table. For example, South Africa are 2nd in the Championship, but 6th in the rankings; whilst England are ranked 2nd, but sit 4th in the Championship.

Of course, the rankings are cross-format; but the time-period is similar – taking into account the past 2 years of matches – so it is a little incongruous perhaps?

ICC Rankings (+ Championship Position)

1. Australia (1)
2. England (4)
3. New Zealand (6)
4. India (8)
5. West Indies (3)
6. South Africa (2)
7. Pakistan (5)
8. Sri Lanka (7)
9. Bangladesh (N/A)
10. Ireland (N/A)

England and Somerset fast bowler Anya Shrubsole has been named the Professional Cricketer’s Association Player of the Summer 2015.

Shrubsole was England’s leading wicket-taker in this year’s Women’s Ashes with 13 wickets; and was the only bowler on either side to record a series economy rate of under 3*.

Anya was also a key player for Somerset in winning Division 2 of the Women’s County Championship, taking 14 wickets and additionally chipping-in with the bat, averaging 29 including one fifty.

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* Minimum 10 overs bowled in the series.

With yesterday’s departure of England Women’s Performance Director Paul Shaw, following so soon after the resignation of Academy coach Lisa Keightley, both of the two most important coaching roles in English women’s cricket are now in-play, raising the question of just exactly who is in charge now? And with England central contracts due to be renewed over the next 3 months, this is a bit more than an academic issue!

Sources at the ECB have told CRICKETher that Paul Shaw will continue to play an in-post active role through December, and is very-much involved in the ongoing process of contract renewals.

Meanwhile, the ECB’s priority is to name his successor by January, prior to the South Africa tour in February; and with the calibre of candidate they are seeking this is likely to take some time, so for the moment we are told that the Academy role is basically on hold and the ECB will not be seeking candidates until after the new Head Coach is appointed – i.e. early next year.

Reading between the tea-leaves, another reason may be that this will also potentially allow the incoming Head Coach to have some input into who is appointed to the Academy, because although the jobs are not formally linked, in practice they will need to work very closely together at Loughborough, where the Academy share the facilities with the top-tier “Performance” squad.

The ECB have announced that England Women’s Head of Performance and Chief Selector Paul Shaw is stepping down from his post and that his role will be replaced by a more traditional “Head Coach”.

Shaw will remain in-place for the remainder of this year, but England are hoping to have made a new appointment by the time they head to South Africa in February.

In her official statement Clare Connor paid tribute Shaw’s contribution; but reading between the lines, she basically acknowledges that with his age-group/ academy background he didn’t have the necessary experience to continue to take the team forward, suggesting that a key criteria for his replacement is someone who has already actually played and/ or coached the game at the very highest levels:

“The decision to move back to a more traditional coaching structure, led by one overarching head coach, ideally with first class or international playing or coaching experience, is what we believe is now needed to take the players to the next level in their development as professional cricketers.”

As CRICKETher reported back in July, England stars travelling to Australia for the winter have been warned by the ECB that they are expected to be back in Blighty by mid-January to prepare for their international tour to South Africa, meaning that they will miss the semi-finals and final of the WBBL, which is set to be the biggest domestic event ever in the history of women’s cricket.

Word is that Cricket Australia were bitterly disappointed by this – the finals are set to be broadcast on national TV, so they are a massive showcase at a critical juncture in the development of the women’s game and they desperately need all the star-power they can get. Hence the past couple of months have seen intense lobbying from Cricket Australia for a change of heart at the ECB, pointing out that there are two whole weeks between the WBBL final and England’s first match in South Africa.

But with several of the England players due to fly out this week, whispers now reach us from Australia that despite everything the ECB have refused to back down: the players are primarily contracted to them and that’s that – the closest Charlotte Edwards and Co. will come to the WBBL final is watching it on TV back in Loughborough.

Of course, the ECB are quite within their rights; but one day they’ll want a favour from Cricket Australia… perhaps as soon as next summer’s Super League… and one wonders quite how cooperative the Aussies will then feel like being?

When 14-year-old Lauren Bell made her Division 1 County Championship debut for Berkshire in May, the county’s coaches were keen to stress that this was a one-off due to unavailabilities, and maybe the only game she’d play this season.

It was smart management, reducing the pressure on the player; but in retrospect they needn’t have worried: Bell took to county cricket like a kite to the breeze, going on to make 8 1st XI appearances in 2015, taking 7 wickets at 29 and leaving little doubt that she has a bright future ahead of her.

Blessed with preternatural height, Bell has been christened The Shard by her teammates, so it is no surprise to learn that she is a fast bowler by trade – an obvious comparison among current stars would be Australia’s Holly Ferling.

But whilst Ferling often has to be hidden away in the deep, Bell – a talented footballer – shows impressive grace and athleticism in the field, with long arms that enable her to swoop upon a travelling ball and deliver a deadly throw in a single movement, reminiscent of no less than Lydia Greenway.

Bell’s county skipper Heather Knight believes that she can go a long way in the game:

“I’ve been massively impressed with Lauren this season. She’s got natural pace and bounce and if she can harness that and become more consistent she has a lot of potential.”

And her attitude on the field also comes in for praise from the England vice-captain:

“She always plays with a massive smile on her face which is great to see!”

Meanwhile, Berkshire manager John Dickinson has vowed to treasure Bell’s prodigious talent, promising CRICKETher: “We’ll nurse her and bring her on.”

The great American baseball player Yogi Berra, who died just last week, once said that you should never make predictions, especially about the future!

But just for once, to hell with it: CRICKETher have seen cricket future… and its name is Lauren Bell.

Players from at least three “associate” nations will have the prospect of spending time in Australia this December/ January, attached to a WBBL team under the just-launched “Associate Rookie” program.

The rookies will be selected from the teams that attend the World T20 Qualifiers in Thailand this November – so Ireland and Scotland players will be hoping to impress Aussie legend Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who will be making the selections following the tournament.

Players from Netherlands, Bangladesh, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, China and Zimbabwe will also have the chance to seize this amazing opportunity.

Team coaches, including Women’s Cricket Scotland boss Kari Carswell, will have the tough job of nominating up to three players to go forward for one of the 8 places up for grabs – one at each WBBL franchise.

Once selected, the players will spend two weeks at WBBL, training alongside the “pros”, with the possibility that they could even get a game if an injury crisis hits their team.

With so many talented players to choose from, it will be interesting to see if Fitzpatrick goes by potential – which could favour youngsters like Ireland’s Elena Tice and Scotland’s Kirstie Gordon – or by current ability, which might make Ireland’s Izzy and Cecelia Joyce likely picks.