Raf & Syd discuss this week’s ECB board meeting; the possible rescheduling of the Women’s World Cup; and the retirement of Pakistan legend Sana Mir.
Plus… thanks again to the magic of green-screen, we’re out and about; but where and (for bonus points!) when are we?
Over on ESPNCricinfo, Senior correspondent George Dobell yesterday laid out the dilemmas facing the ECB board as they meet today with cricket facing an unprecedented crisis due to Coronavirus.
There are question marks over all aspects of the men’s game – Tests, ODIs, the County Championship, The Hundred, The Blast… the list goes on! Men’s cricket is in desperate, desperate trouble. Although it has emerged that the ECB has some insurance against the impact of a global pandemic, this is limited and unlikely to pay out for months, if at all – with the insurance industry itself staring down the barrel of a smoking volcano.
The men’s counties meanwhile are… to put it politely… absolutely stuffed. Most of them live year-to-year with few reserves, and none of them are in any position to meet their obligations without the ongoing income from a combination of TV, gate receipts and hospitality. If the season were to be totally cancelled, several would likely go bust, with the ECB looking on helplessly from the sidelines.
Given this situation, it is understandable that the priorities at the forefront of people’s minds are to try to get some men’s cricket – any men’s cricket – played this summer, with talk of “biosecure” internationals and domestic cricket being live-streamed from behind closed doors.
But while the men desperately debate science-fiction solutions, the women’s game risks being totally forgotten.
Yes, technically, The Hundred is women’s cricket; but while all the talk has been about male players potentially losing their lucrative big-money contracts, no one seems to have quite clocked that for the majority of female players, The Hundred was going to be their only source of cricketing income this year – without it, they will be back to their pre-KSL status – 100% amateur.
The problem is magnified when you remember that the Centres of Excellence, which were supposed to offer full-time professional domestic contracts to an additional 40 non-England players, have essentially been put “on hold”. Although no contracts had been signed, several players were led to believe they would be getting one of these deals, and so not unreasonably put off other life decisions on that understanding. While the long-term investment is secure, as far as the players are concerned they now look set to get a big, fat cheque for absolutely nothing until next year at least.
Even what remains of national level women’s county cricket – the T20 Cup – has been pretty much ignored. We assume it counts as “recreational” and has therefore been effectively cancelled on that basis, but as far as we are aware no one has officially come out on the record and said so, and the fixtures are still listed on Play Cricket, the competition’s official web site.
In the fight to keep the men’s game alive, the women’s game is clearly not the main priority for many of those who have any influence on this situation. But nonetheless we’re still here – we still exist, we still matter… and we won’t be forgotten.
Raf & Syd discuss India’s World Cup qualification, Ireland’s uncertain future and England’s new rookie – Emma Lamb.
Plus, thanks to the magic of Green Screen, we’re in The Long Room at Lords… but what is it set up for?
Lancashire batting allrounder Emma Lamb has been awarded an England Rookie Contract, following her graduation last year from Edge Hill University.
Lamb was a key member of the Lancashire side which won the county double in 2017, scoring 333 runs and taking 13 wickets. The following season she bettered that, scoring 497 runs at an average of over 40, and taking 11 wickets with her off-spin.
She also made 30 appearances for Lancashire Thunder in the KSL, scoring 329 runs at a Strike Rate of 99, and taking 21 wickets with a best of 4-17.
Lamb, who has been a member of the Academy squad since she was a teenager, attended the Professional Cricketers Association’s 2020 “Rookie Camp” in February alongside Kirstie Gordon, and told the PCA’s in-house magazine Beyond The Boundaries:
“I don’t think you can underestimate how difficult it can be to balance university studies with training. It’s quite hard to focus on just the cricket.”
“After completing my Sports and Exercise Science degree at Edge Hill University, I’ve earned my contract so [cricket’s] now my main focus where it wasn’t before.”
Although women’s Rookie Contracts are by themselves not a full-time living wage, they allow a player who might otherwise have had to go out and look for a regular job to continue within the system; and Lamb will also be able to supplement her England contract with her earnings from playing for the Werther’s Manchester Originals in The Hundred, assuming that goes ahead in August.
Raf & Syd discuss Ellyse Perry “doing the double” in this year’s Wisden, plans for the new Regional Centres of Excellence, how the Australian travel ban will affect women’s cricket, and can international cricket be played indoors in New Zealand?
Featuring a bonus plug of Raf’s book Ladies and Lords!
Plus… which county ground are we broadcasting from this week?
Middlesex CCC and Jersey Cricket have agreed the terms of a long-term strategic partnership to increase opportunities for their talented female cricketers. Jersey are associate members of the ICC, and are currently placed 37th in the women’s international T20 rankings.
Plans for Jersey to tour in England in late May, to train with the Middlesex Women’s side and play three T20 matches at Mill Hill School, have unfortunately been put on-hold due to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, but the hope is that new arrangements can be made once the current situation has been resolved.
Danni Warren, Head of Women’s Cricket at Middlesex said:
“It is really exciting to be working with Jersey Cricket.”
“Having discussed our respective visions in depth, it was obvious that we share a lot of common aspirations, making this partnership the natural next step.”
“Despite [the tour] being postponed due to the current COVID-19 situation we are committed to facilitating similar opportunities for both of our playing groups going forward.”
Lee Meloy, Jersey Women’s Head Coach, echoed Warren’s disappointment at the tour’s cancellation, but reflected:
“Looking at the bigger picture; it’s a very exciting time for Women’s cricket. To be able to work closely with such a well-established organisation will undoubtedly leave a legacy for our female cricketers.”
The Australian government’s decision to ban all its citizens from leaving Australia for the next six months has left the future of the Women’s Hundred hanging in the balance, with many overseas players and coaches now looking unlikely to be able to take part.
Half of the coaches and several of the biggest-name players are currently in Australia, where new restrictions introduced last week essentially ban all overseas travel for a period initially expected to last at least six months, taking us well past the window when The Hundred could feasibly be played, even if it were rescheduled into September.
As discussed on this week’s CRICKETher Vodcast, going ahead with The Hundred without the game’s biggest names, including Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy, would leave the competition over-reliant on a relatively small pool of domestic players, without the glamour, glitz and firepower that the overseas stars would bring.
Raf & Syd discuss the week’s news, including England Women taking a pay cut, separate TV rights for the women’s game & who will feature in this year’s Wisden Cricketers of the Year?
PS – Thanks to the magic of green screen, we’re back at The G on T20 World Cup Final day… but what on earth is going on in the background?
APRIL 1ST EXCLUSIVE
With the cricket season under threat due to the coronavirus, news has emerged of a proposal to play the Women’s Hundred at night, after research carried out in Australia indicated that COVID-19 can’t be transmitted after sunset because the virus is scared of the dark.
Night Cricket (Photo: Don Miles)
Dr April Fulio, Dean of Topical Diseases at the Sydney University of Medicine, told CRICKETher:
“We noticed that viral content on social media is much more active during the day than it is at night, so we extrapolated from that using what scientists call ‘multi-level post-rationalisation’. This allowed us to base our conclusions almost entirely upon the unsubstantiated conjecture that the virus is essentially scared of the dark.”
Suggestions to play the Men’s Hundred behind closed doors, in a so-called ‘sterile environment’, have already been put on the table; but the additional financial constraints on the women’s competition called for a more innovative solution.
Dr Fulio explained:
“The matches would have to be played in total darkness, which rules out using floodlights, but instead we are examining the possibility of playing with a luminous pink Incrediball to assist visibility.”
“Fans will be able to watch the action live-streamed on Instagram, using a “Predator” style filter which simulates military thermal imaging technology, in another innovative first for the women’s game!”
THIS ARTICLE IS A PARODY
Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives
Raf & Syd look forward to what may (or may not) happen in 2020.
PS – Thanks to the magic of “green screen”, we’re at Lord’s… but can you guess when we are?
CRICKETher 