It was all going so well. Tammy Beaumont had gorgeously clipped the first ball of the innings off her legs, through to the midwicket boundary for 4.

This was the England we had come to see – bold, brash and beautiful.

The hope was becoming expectation.

And then it wasn’t.

It wasn’t even hope any more.

Just existential dread as first Jones… then Beaumont… then Taylor… then Knight all went in the first 6 overs, as Schutt and Perry between them humbled England’s top order. The ball that got Taylor was an absolute “beaut” as the Aussies themselves say; but both Jones and Beaumont got themselves out.

And Knight? Well, the England captain clearly felt hard-done-by in the moment – making the “T” DRS review gesture as she walked back to the pavilion, presumably feeling she’d hit it, as it was clearly dead in front. It was a protest that was DOA, however, as there is no DRS in this series – a decision which came more sharply into focus a few minutes later with Fran Wilson.

Wilson swung at a ball from Perry and got a bottom edge which was taken behind the stumps. “Not Out” said the umpire, and that was that. But if DRS had been in place, there is every likelihood that it would have seen Wilson sent back two overs before she was eventually dismissed, by another controversial decision which set people asking why DRS was not being used, as she was given out “Glove” Before to Jess Jonassen.

The answer, we understand, is financial – full DRS is expensive, with much more kit and caboodle required to meet the minimum standards for player referrals, compared with what is needed for umpire referrals for run-outs and stumpings.

Sky, finding themselves under fire on Twitter as the “host broadcaster”, were quick to point the finger at the host board as the ones who had actually made the decision not to spend the money; but the ECB perhaps can be defended on this one. There is only a limited amount of budget, and the minimum standards required by the ICC for international series mean you can’t just use the “normal” TV pictures, even when the decision is a howler of Molly Weasley proportions! (And if you want to complain about that, complain to the ICC not the ECB.)

It is easy to forget that as recently as 10 years ago, Ashes internationals were still being played at club grounds in front of crowds of literally tens! (Okay… the match at Stratford in 2009 wasn’t technically part of “The Ashes” at that point in history, but still…) So while we are not quite flying “First Class”, the fact that we are flying “Business”, with full TV coverage in front of crowds which break 4-figures even on a “school” night, is easy to overlook.

And as we’ve said, it wouldn’t have saved England anyway – Wilson would have been out two overs earlier, and even if she hadn’t been, the damage was already done at 19-4 – that was the ball game, from 6 overs in. The rest? It wasn’t quite a formality – Nat Sciver’s efforts with the bat had insured England had something to bowl at, and bowl at it they did. To come within 2 wickets of victory was a fine effort from them with the ball, but at the end of the day all the Australians needed to do was park the bus just long enough to get away with the loot, and that’s exactly what they did – 2-0 Australia!

Warwickshire (AKA Birmingham Bears) have won the T20 Cup with a dramatic victory over Lancashire in the final match of the season.

Despite losing their opening fixture of the day to Sussex, Warwickshire stayed in the hunt due to Hampshire’s defeat to Kent, but they still needed to beat Lancashire and hope that Wales could do them a favour in Hampshire’s final game.

Wales did their part, with Alexandra Griffiths taking 3-12 as Hampshire were bowled out for 73, which Wales chased-down with 4 overs to spare.

Simultaneously at Edgbaston Warwickshire had racked up a massive 150 against Lancashire, largely thanks to 76 off 57 balls from captain Marie Kelly, who had earlier been awarded a special county cap by Warwickshire legend Ian Bell for her hundredth appearance in a Bears shirt.

With nothing to lose, Lancashire gave chase hard, reaching 70-2 after 9 overs, but a collapse to 75-5 was the beginning of the end and Warwickshire completed the job by bowling out Lancashire for 130 – Georgia Davis and Jess Couser taking 3 wickets apiece.

Elsewhere, Bryony Smith was in the runs again, scoring 77 for Surrey as they posted 142 against Middlesex, with Hannah Jones taking a hat-trick to kill off Middlesex’s reply at 87 all out.

Meanwhile Somerset finished top of the tree in Div 2, beating Derbyshire and Worcestershire, with Sophie Luff top-scoring in both matches, as they finished 4 points ahead of Durham, who lost to Scotland and Yorkshire.

England have announced a 14-player squad for the 1st Women’s Ashes ODI against Australia.

The squad contains no surprises, and is identical to the squad selected for the first two matches of the West Indies ODI series, save for the omission of Alex Hartley, who was “let go” during that series.

Heather Knight, who was due to miss the washed-out T20 at Derby last Tuesday as a precautionary measure, having twanged her hamstring in the game at Northampton, is included and is expected to lead the team out as usual.

With the England Academy playing games against Australia A during the week, England have the option to bring in other players later in the series, which might provide an opening for Bryony Smith, who impressed in her ODI debut versus the Windies and also hit a half century in the warm-ups against Australia last week.

The multi-format series begins next week with a pair of day-night ODIs at Leicester on Tuesday 2nd and Thursday 4th July, followed by the final ODI at Canterbury on Sunday 7th July. The teams then have 10 days preparation before the only Test, which begins in Taunton on Thursday 18th July.

Full Squad

Heather Knight (Berkshire)
Tammy Beaumont (Kent)
Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire)
Kate Cross (Lancashire)
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire)
Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire)
Amy Jones (Warwickshire)
Laura Marsh (Kent)
Nat Sciver (Surrey)
Anya Shrubsole (Berkshire)
Sarah Taylor (Sussex)
Fran Wilson (Kent)
Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)
Danni Wyatt (Sussex)

The Professional Cricketers Association has agreed with the ECB to represent an additional 100 female players participating in The Hundred from next season.

The Professional Cricketers Association [PCA] acts as a Trade Union for players, looking after their legal interests and their ongoing welfare both during their playing careers and post-retirement. Each player pays a small subscription, but the PCA is largely funded by the ECB.

In a Press Release, the PCA promised that “every male and female professional player” [emphasis ours] would benefit from the new agreement reached with the ECB and the 18 First Class counties.

One of the problems with the current setup is that although the Kia Super League players are “semi-professional” they have no formal representation within the system, because only the full time contracted England players are members of the PCA.

Bringing The Hundred players, whose interests do not necessarily align with those of the England contracted elite, into the PCA is therefore a huge step forwards.

The agreement also mandates a new minimum wage of £27,500 for full time professionals. It is unclear how (or even whether) this applies to The Hundred players, who will not be “full time”; however, this may mean a pay boost for those on the lowest tier of England contract.

There also remains potentially a gap for those players who play in the new “pro county” competition but not in The Hundred – though the suggestion that 100 additional players will be represented does actually imply that they might also be covered, because only about 80 “domestic” players are expected to be contracted for The Hundred, with the rest of the squads being made up by England and overseas players.

Hampshire held on to top spot in Div 1 of the T20 Cup, but Warwickshire and Lancashire are hot on their heels with one round of matches to go next weekend.

Hampshire’s weekend began against Surrey at Widness CC, where Bryony Smith’s 85 off 64 balls set up a total of 155-7. In reply, a 68-run partnership between Maia Bouchier (56) and Fi Morris (25) put Hampshire on course, but it came down to some late heroics from Emily Windsor (31*) and Ella Chandler (11*) to get Hampshire over the line with 3 balls to spare.

Hampshire then took on Lancashire, with a chance to really put themselves in the driving seat going into the final weekend, but a half-century from Eve Jones (62) helped Lancashire post 135-6. Maia Bouchier (44) hit her second score of the day to keep Hampshire close to the rate… but not quite close enough, with Lancashire ahead by 6 runs on DLS when rain put an early end to proceedings.

It was enough to move Lancashire into third, and it is worth remembering that a more equitable allocation of points for cancelled games would mean Lancashire would actually be top on NRR; but the system is what it is – just 1 point for “No Result”, compared with 4 for a win – and Lancashire now need Hampshire to slip up next weekend if they are to have a shot at the title.

Elsewhere in Div 1, Warwickshire fought back into contention with wins over Middlesex and Kent, thanks to a cracking weekend with the bat from Gwen Davies, who hit two unbeaten half-centuries – full reports here!

Meanwhile Sussex finally got some proper points on the board – Hollie Young taking 2-8 as they beat Notts by 42 runs; and Georgia Elwis hitting 80*, then taking 4-16 with the ball, for a 12-run win against Wales.

In Div 2, Durham held on to top spot, strolling to easy wins over Derbyshire and Essex; with Somerset 4 points adrift in second place, after wins against Devon and Scotland.

Danni Wyatt’s cricket career has been a game of two halves. Between her debut in 2010 and 2016, hers was a tale of potential unfulfilled – probably the most gifted natural athlete of her era in the game, she was never able to translate that into runs (or wickets) in the international arena. Then… somehow… England coach Mark Robinson finally found her “on” switch, as he had done with Tammy Beaumont before, and would go on to do with Amy Jones after; and at last the runs came, including that career-defining, 57-ball T20 century out in Australia in the 2017 Ashes.

But looked at another way, since that “surgence” (sic – there’s no “re”!) her career has been a game of two games.

The upward trend in her average has really only been in T20 cricket, and this summer against the West Indies has reflected that. In the ODI series, she made 8, 3 and 12 – just 23 runs – but back in a T20 shirt last night, she hit 81 off 55 balls, earning herself the Player of the Match award as England continued their long winning run.

It is true that she was lucky – she was dropped twice in the troublesome-teens – an absolute dolly at mid off that any park player would hope to pouch 9 times out of 10; and a tougher chance behind the stumps, but one which you’d expect an international wicket keeper to take. But there is a lot of luck in this game, and the best players learn to ride it as Wyatt did in that innings, leaving no room for doubt – she is one of the best T20 players in the world.

The dilemma for England now, almost regardless of what happens in the final T20 next week, is about Ashes selection.

If the Ashes began with the T20s, it would be obvious; but it doesn’t – it begins with the ODIs and then the Test; and on Wyatt’s ODI form, you’d probably have to pick Fran Wilson ahead of her for those one-dayers and more than likely for the Test too.

But can you really drop Wyatt after what she did last night?

It was always going to be a tough call for Mark Robinson… and with her innings at Northampton, Wyatt just made it tougher.

“It was a long time in the making,” says former England allrounder Laura MacLeod of her new role as Warwickshire’s Women’s Performance Manager.

“Back in January 2018, I was on a CPD [Continuous Professional Development] event for the ECB. The Warwickshire lads were in doing some fitness testing, and I happened to see Ashley Giles on the balcony and we started chatting. He said to me ‘Have you had a look at it?’ I said, ‘To be honest, no I haven’t!’”

“At the time I was thinking that I would want to go further in the recreational game and I didn’t really think about the performance side; but I looked at it again, and we had a further chat, and I decided that I’d go to interview.”

“So I had my interview, but Ashley and I agreed was that it would be best if I started in the winter, so it was 1st October 2018 when I started.”

Even though the new job currently means 5am starts to commute from Lancashire to Birmingham, MacLeod has no doubts she made the right move:

“It is the best decision I’ve made – to take that step across from the recreational game into the performance game – I’m thoroughly enjoying myself!”

The day-to-day role involves overseeing the 9 teams on Warwickshire’s performance program – from Under 11s right through to the county 1st XI, including doing some coaching for the age-group sides.

However this is likely to change substantially next year, with Warwickshire joining up with Worcestershire for The Hundred and the new “pro” regional setup:

“In effect the role that I currently do will not exist next year in the capacity that it is now – the role next year will only be the senior and the academy – they will obviously have some oversight of what goes on in the pathway but there will be no direct responsibility.”

But MacLeod is already thinking about how things will operate going forwards:

“We will be a new area for both the regional domestic structure and also the Hundred, and I want to make sure we hit the ground running.”

Being a “new” side, without an existing KSL franchise, is a particular challenge:

“Almost everyone else will be established and will have continuity and will have people in mind. We won’t have anything that is consistent but we might be able to attract a few people over to us.”

MacLeod sees the existing Warwickshire team as the foundation of the new squads.

“What we’ve been able to do in Warwickshire is attract the best players from the West Midlands so largely it will be those who are currently playing now, plus we will utilise the number of overseas that you can have, just to bring the quality up.”

In order to get the players ready for next year, MacLeod has been leveraging her contacts to get as many Warwickshire players as possible into the Super League this season:

“I’ve been doing a bit of almost ‘agent’ work with some of these girls to get them into the Kia Super League. So we’ve got 7 players now into the Super League and through my contacts and me speaking to the coaches, I can say ‘Have you thought about so-and-so?’ So that is really good – it will be great exposure for them…” She laughs… “So long as they come back!!”

The aspiration to put the Men’s and Women’s Hundreds on an equal footing is going to be an interesting challenge for those at the sharp end like MacLeod:

“I thought that when Kate Cross was asked the question recently she answered it really well – it is about looking back and asking ‘What improvements have we made from last year?’ And I’m already seeing improvements – there is a definite will and desire from [Warwickshire CEO] Neil Snowball and [Worcestershire CEO] Matt Rawnsley to endeavour to do whatever they can to ensure that the men and the women have equal access.”

And if not… they will have Laura MacLeod to answer to:

“I will be one of those people who will ensure that we get as much as we can and hopefully we will see some really good things next year.”

On a weekend when only 3 of 9 Div 1 fixtures were completed due to the weather, Hampshire moved into top spot with a 4 wicket win over Birmingham Bears at Aldershot – full report here.

Surrey went second with a big win over Sussex – Kirstie White hit 74 off 56 balls as Surrey posted 144-4 from 20 overs, before the stock story of Sussex’s season played out once again, as their batting collapsed to 87 all out – Surrey skipper Hannah Jones leading the bowling with 2-11.

With no rescheduling allowed in the T20 Cup, the lost matches are lost for ever with each team allocated just 1 point compared with 4 for a win, leaving Lancashire particularly aggrieved, having now had 3 of 4 games rained-off so far this season.

It was the same story in Div 2, with washouts up and down the country – including Scotland making the 8-hour road-trip to Essex, only to have to turn straight around again, with no prospect of play whatsoever due to an uncovered pitch.

With only the fixtures at Hartlepool surviving in Div 2, home side Durham took advantage to post victories over Cheshire and Somerset and leapfrog Scotland into first place.

Despite having their match against Notts washed-out by rain, Hampshire went clear at the top of Div 1 in the T20 Cup with a close-run victory over Birmingham Bears at Aldershot.

On a day when the weather held most of the cards, Hampshire and Notts could only sit in the pavilion watching the Men’s World Cup on TV, as the first match of the triple-header went first from 20 overs down to 12, before being cancelled completely as rain showers persisted through an early lunch and into the afternoon.

Notts v Birmingham, scheduled to start at 1:30pm, eventually got underway as an 8-overs-a-side thrash at 10 past 3.

Notts got off to a reasonable start, despite losing Sonia Odedra for a duck off the first legitimate delivery of the innings, with the Graves sisters, Teresa (24) and Yvonne (10), putting on 30 for the second wicket; but 4 wickets for 12 in 2 overs, including a hat-trick from leg-spinner Nish Patel, pegged Notts back to 61-8.

In reply however, the Bears didn’t quite get out of the blocks quickly enough, and despite Marie Kelly hitting 32 off 23 balls, they ended up 5 runs short.

With the sun finally making an appearance as afternoon turned to evening, a genuine Twenty20 match between Hampshire and Birmingham – joint leaders coming into the weekend – offered one or the other the chance to seize control of the title race.

In-form Marie Kelly opened the batting for the Bears, but lasted just one ball as Maia Bouchier appeared to spill the easiest of Caught & Bowled opportunities, but somehow managed to juggle it and take the catch on the third attempt.

Despite the early setback, the Bears made steady progress through the powerplay, including a sudden burst of acceleration in the 5th over as Gwenan Davies and Thea Brookes plundered 15 off Fi Morris’s first over. It was Morris who would go on to have the last word, however – coming back at the death to deliver a further 2.4 overs for just 6 runs, taking 3 wickets along the way, as Birmingham stuttered to a below-par 95 all out.

A 34-run partnership between Maia Bouchier (20) and Sam Betts (20) then appeared to have put Hampshire in the cruising seat to an easy win, before Jess Couser intervened to dismiss Betts and Bouchier in successive overs. Couser’s third over then added the scalps of Fi Morris and Emily Windsor, and for a moment the comeback looked on for Birmingham.

But Katie George (20*), despite taking a few risks along the way, managed to hold things together with the help of Ella Chandler (13) and Charlie Dean (9*), to see Hampshire home with 6 balls to spare, to go 4 points clear at the top of the T20 table.