Author: Richard Clark

THE GREAT DEBATE: Women’s Tests – The Case Against

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By Richard Clark

With the Kia Super League done and dusted, all eyes are now turning to this winter’s Women’s Ashes in Australia, and the prospects of Mark Robinson’s squad regaining the trophy Australia took on these shores in 2015 to sit nicely on the mantelpiece alongside the World Cup.

As with the last three Ashes battles, the series will be decided over a multi-format campaign, involving three One-Day Internationals, followed by a four-day Test Match, and ending with three T20 games.

It’s a format that may be considered “tried and tested” to a point, albeit with some tweaks along the way – the Test Match has been moved from the beginning to the middle of the programme since it was first introduced in 2013, and has also been “downgraded” from six points to four to decrease the emphasis on one match.

The question that occurs to me, however, is “Why?”

Why is there a Test Match?

England’s women cricketers play nothing other than “short form cricket” – be it for their clubs, counties or internationally – other than during the Ashes (barring the one-off Test against India in 2014). Likewise the Australians, as far as I am aware. Whilst Tests are still considered (rightly) to be the pinnacle of the men’s game, they are virtually alien to the women’s version.

For any player making her debut in this winter’s Test – and there will be a few on both sides – this will almost certainly be their first experience of coming back the next day (and the next, and the next) to continue a match. It will be the first time they field all day, or attempt to play a “long” innings. And that’s before we throw in the floodlit aspect, too!

That won’t necessarily make for a poor match, of course. The 2013/14 Test – played in Perth – was a captivating tussle. Lowish scoring, perhaps, but fiercely contested, and in doubt until the final morning. It ebbed and flowed as Test Match cricket should, and there were key performances from Kate Cross and Nat Sciver that “announced” their arrivals.

The Test at Canterbury in 2015, however, was (and I’m a fan of women’s cricket, remember) fairly awful to watch, and to describe it as a poor advertisement for the game would be a kindness. It seemed clear that England in particular looked rudderless in their approach the game. Whilst some of the blame for that could be laid at the coach’s door, that only tells part of the story. Sheer inexperience paid a huge part.

So why play Tests? I can think of only two reasons. Firstly, because it’s what we’ve always done – the Women’s Ashes were exclusively Test-based until 2011, and a Test has been part of the three series since. Secondly, the multi-format series is the “USP” – it’s what marks the Women’s Ashes out from ANY other cricket contest, men’s or women’s (yes, I know the men have used it but it was largely ignored as a concept by all and sundry).

Are either of those arguments enough? I can’t think of another sport that uses such an alien format in one of its highest profile contests – apart, perhaps, from the foursomes segment of Golf’s Ryder Cup. Nobody would expect footballers to turn up every four years and play five-a-side for the World Cup!

It would undoubtedly be a huge shame not to see a Test Match on the calendar, but if we really want the players to produce a contest befitting the Trophy then surely they should be playing what they know best, and that is limited overs cricket.

(Tomorrow Raf Nicholson will present The Case In Favour).

The Sound Of Pennies Dropping: A Tale of Two Seasons

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Guest writer Richard Clark tells the story of two dramatically different seasons for Worcestershire Under 13s…

As any parent will tell you, watching your children progress and learn in sport can be frustrating and rewarding in – give or take – equal measure, so I don’t make any great claims for the following tale to be in any way “special”. It’s nothing more than a personal look back on two years in the evolution of a County Under 13 team. And I suspect it will resonate with many parents up and down the country.

This is the tale of Worcestershire Under 13s – my daughter’s mob – and it’s a tale of two distinctly different summers. Such, I suspect, is often the nature of girls’ county cricket, with the two-year cycle meaning teams are often at different stages in their evolution. Half the team changes every season, and with it, for good or bad, the whole character, let alone ability level, of a team can fluctuate wildly.

To say that for the Under 13 girls of Worcestershire 2015 was not especially kind would be something of an understatement. Defeat followed flattening defeat, with the first three games disappearing out of sight to the tune of eight wickets, eight wickets and seven wickets respectively. As is probably inevitable where youngsters are concerned, spirits sagged, enthusiasm waned and confidence drained away.

Perhaps a chance to bowl first might have brought about a change in fortune? It didn’t. At Hagley, Devon racked up the small matter of 243 for 3, in reply to which we accumulated 20 – with nine runs from six scoring shots off the bat. In the following match, Herefordshire rolled us over for 35. They then beat us again a week later. Six defeats from six.

None of this is to denigrate the efforts of the girls. It’s just that, particularly with youngsters, once confidence and belief has gone there is little that can be done. Some of those games were lost before the coin went up. They wanted to win. They just never believed they could.

When Dorset came calling in August, posting 94, a seventh defeat loomed large. 95 to win may not seem like much, but it was more than we had scored in any innings to that point. But then a funny thing happened – our girls batted sensibly, maturely, calmly, and picked off the runs. There was no block, prod, panic, swipe, clatter, as had been the case all too often previously; just a well-paced knocking off of the runs with eight overs to spare. It was so completely out of the blue that I’m not sure I believe it even now. This wasn’t so much pennies dropping as hitting the jackpot in Vegas.

And there, just as a ray of light appeared at the end of a very long tunnel, the season ended, any thought of “momentum” dashed. But still, whatever happened next, we’d always have Droitwich…

Part two of our tale actually begins shortly before part one ends, if that makes any sense. With morale in tatters, and the squad often unable to muster 11 players, a number of promising under 11s had been drafted in towards the end of the season. Whether by accident or design it proved to be a boon, lifting spirits a little, and probably, with hindsight, playing no small part in that solitary victory. It was a little glimpse of what was to come.

The instant winter training began – and I mean the instant – the difference hit you between the eyes. Training was fun, the new girls clicked with those remaining from the previous season immediately. Again this is not a criticism of those who had moved on – more a reflection of the fact that some groups just work, whilst others don’t. It’s not a cricketing thing, or even a sporting thing, it’s life. But in a sports team it can make a huge difference.

But of course, they still had to go and play cricket – the acid test. All the team spirit and fun in the world can only get you so far if you keep being bowled out for 20s and 30s.

The first game at home to Dorset was akin to an epiphany. Our first individual half century, our first fifty partnership, and a score of 184 (after being 82-6 at one stage). Almost double anything achieved the previous season. Backed up by a solid bowling display, it added up to a 124-run win. A good start.

And yet… The next game, against Cornwall, saw a wobble. From 39-2 we stuttered to 68 all out and lost by 8 wickets. The hope – or fear – was that one of these results was a blip. The trouble was, we didn’t know which one.

Wiltshire away didn’t really provide an answer either way, but it did produce the best match of the season – a low scoring thriller. The home side were dismissed for 74 (including our first five-fer), but it looked as though we’d cooked our goose at 55-8. Our half-centurion from the Dorset game wasn’t having that, though, inching her way to 16 not out as nos. 10 and 11 held firm at the other end. A win, by one wicket maybe, but a win nonetheless, and one we would not have pulled off the previous season.

A brief pause here – this thing about pennies dropping. Every game has seen one player or another “put her hand up”. Of the squad of fifteen, the majority have, at some stage, played an important part in setting up, turning round, or finishing off a match. It may only be small things, but they add up over time. It’s as though you can see the cogs whirring, the building blocks going up one-by-one to turn these girls into decent cricketers – and by that I don’t just mean batters and bowlers, but thinking cricketers. Nobody would have had it in them to score 16 not out and haul us through that match last season. In the context of that game, that situation, it was one of the finest innings I have ever seen.

The “World Tour of Dorset and Cornwall” was always going to be a highlight. Dorset were beaten again, but Cornwall held on by 12 runs at Helston to achieve a double, even though we had our third “Michelle” in three games, all from different bowlers. If I wanted to make excuses, maybe the intensity and excesses of the tour lifestyle proved too much for our girls. On the other hand, it was tremendous fun, and sometimes that’s worth more than any win or loss.

Since then there have been resounding wins against Herefordshire and Wiltshire. Against Herefordshire we upped our collective highest score to 208-6, and our individual best to 75, as well as raising our first 100 partnership. It also saw one of our openers undefeated for the second game running – 70 overs all told. Again, all of these things unthinkable a year ago – pennies dropping all the time.

Another example – my own daughter. I dislike reliance on stats but after taking 2 for 103 off 18 overs last season, it’s fair to say she’s slightly happier with 16 for 54 off 31 overs (including two Under 15 games) this season. It’s no accident – she’s listened, learned and gained confidence.

In the Wiltshire game our sixth different player of the season passed 30 in an innings. Again, we recovered from 80-5 to score 167 and win by over 100 runs. With only Herefordshire to come we have five wins out of seven. Oh, and the bulk of the squad earned five wins out of five during their three days at the Malvern Festival.

I said at the start that this was no “special” tale, and it isn’t. I have no experience of Under 13 girls’ cricket in other parts of the country, but I suspect our Division isn’t perhaps the strongest – and I don’t mean that disparagingly. It’s entirely possible that one or two counties are in the position we were last season, and that they will come good next year. Maybe we are a strong (ish) fish in a weak (ish) pond. If you like, that is the moral of the story – progress will come in all shapes and sizes, and at various different rates, but come it will.

OPINION: KSL – Winning the Phoney War

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Guest writer Richard Clark on the importance of the countdown to the Kia Super League.

So we know the “hosts”, we know where the England players are allocated, we know where the overseas signings have gone, we know the full squads, and we know the fixtures. All this after a well-orchestrated two or three weeks of “drip, drip” style announcements from the ECB and the KSL.

And now? Well, now we must wait. There are, give or take, three months until the start of “KSL1” (if that is what we are to call it). Three long months. Of waiting…

Except wait is the last things the hosts and the ECB should be doing. These three months are, in some ways, more important than the competition itself, because to a certain extent KSL1 will not stand or fall on the quality of the cricket. In a competition that lasts only three weeks (and only two for a couple of the teams) there will be little time for the cricket to make an impact. By the time people make their mind up as to whether it’s worth watching… it will be all but over.

No, KSL1 will succeed at least in part if it “gains traction” in the public consciousness, if it pulls in punters on opening night, if it catches the eye of the media. On that score, so far so good, by and large. The process of gradually unveiling the set-up has been well handled and the “franchises” have generally bought into the need to shout about it. Interest has been piqued, and followings have tentatively been established [see our previous piece on Twitter impact].

Over the next three months, though, nothing much is happening, and it is now – through what you might term the “Phoney War” – that the ECB and the hosts need to earn their corn in terms of turning what I referred to above as “followings” into something more tangible as “fan-bases”.

Nearer the time, there will no doubt be personal appearances by players at events and coaching days close to the host venues, but how about in the meantime?

Marketing departments have got to work overtime in the coming weeks to ensure that they get their message out there. To an extent the mainstream media will not want to know at the moment (What’s the story? Oh, you’ve got a game in three months’ time? Come back and see us then…), so a lot of publicity is going to have to be self-generated.

Social Media will be key here. It will not be enough to put a page on a website and expect that to do the job. Via Twitter and other social media channels the hosts need to get themselves embedded into cricket fans’ minds. Each host has its own dedicated Twitter feed (with the exception of Surrey Stars – a serious mistake in my view). They need to use them daily to worm their way into their followers lives. And remember, it’s not just their followers they are aiming in – never underestimate the power and reach of the re-tweet!

The players too must be tweeting about it constantly – Twitter can be a dangerous world for the sportsman or woman, but the positives here should outweigh the negatives. If this is a “War”, then it needs to be fought with total commitment, and with every weapon available.

And KSL has some weapons – the likes of Edwards, Taylor (both of them!), Lanning, Perry, Matthews… These are potential superstars for my daughter’s generation, and they have to be used as tools in the coming months to make sure KSL1 opens with a bang.

OPINION: Time To Administer Last Rites To Double-Headers

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Supporter of women’s cricket Richard Clark explains why we need to move on from Double-Headers.

It’s amazing to think that it’s only six years since the first T20 “double header” took place in this country, during that summer’s World T20 Championships. The semi-finals and finals were all played in that format, of course, with England winning the tournament, beating New Zealand at Lords in the final.

But six years is a long time, and perhaps now is the right time for a re-think, and to consign the double-header to history.

There’s no “revisionism” in this. The double-header games were a fantastic innovation at the time. In fact I’d say they were essential for the women’s game. They brought the one thing that otherwise would not have happened, and which is crucial to any sport – live TV coverage. It’s a simple fact that neither Sky, nor any other TV company would have covered stand-alone women’s games at that time. Crowds in the grounds may have been sparse for those matches, but for the development of the women’s game, at that moment in time, TV was more important than bums on seats

Indeed, I would go as far as to say that England’s semi-final against Australia, in particular, was the most significant match in women’s cricket history. Claire Taylor and Beth Morgan’s pursuit of the Aussies’ daunting total remains, pound for pound the best one-day run-chase I’ve ever seen. Mike Selvey, for one, credits it as his moment of “conversion” to women’s cricket. Without TV coverage it would have had little or no impact.

Fast forward six years. This summer has seen Sky televise every day of the Women’s Ashes live. The crowds at Taunton, Bristol, Chelmsford and Hove (Worcester was nigh-on a sell-out too, until the weather had its say) have proved that there is now an audience for the game that perhaps wasn’t quite there even two years ago. Whether that can translate to other series is debatable at best, but Women’s Ashes cricket, at least, is now “marketable” in its own right. The TV excuse for needing double-headers is no longer there.

The only damp squib of the series was the final game in Cardiff. Yes, of course, that was partly down to Australia already having taken the spoils, but would it have been any different had that not been the case? After all, the series was only decided three days earlier. Had that game been played at, say, Headingley, and marketed as the potential Ashes decider and, dare I add, the only opportunity to watch England – including Yorkies’ Brunt, Hazell and Winfield – and Australia north of Worcester, who is to say what sort of ticket sales might have been achieved?

From a personal point of view, too, the cost of going to a double-header is prohibitive for my family of four, and I also don’t particularly want to subject my children to the “beer snake culture” as the day progresses. I actually want to watch (and be able to watch) good, and affordable, cricket. And I suspect I’m not alone. I suspect, in fact, that the Women’s Ashes is coming to represent that for an increasing number of cricket lovers.

It’s time to let it stand on its own two feet.

REPORT: Worcestershire Make History At New Road

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Richard Clark Reports

It may have escaped your attention amidst “Ashes Fever”, but history was made at a slightly moist New Road, Worcester, on Sunday 30th August, as Worcestershire Ladies took to the hallowed turf for the first time ever against Devon.

Ostensibly staged as part of the County’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations, the occasion was enough of a success, not least due to the quality of the match provided by the two teams, to hope that it will be repeated more often in the future.

A little context here – my daughter plays for Worcestershire under 13s, but this was my first experience of watching any Women’s County Cricket. As such, I was a little unsure what to expect in terms of standards from a Second Division clash. I need not have worried.

Batting first, Worcs got off to a steady start, with openers Naomi Heywood and Jo Cull putting on 127 together before both departed almost immediately after passing 50. A spot of “ticking over” followed, but a steady 37 not out from Claire Boycott (no relation, and sans either pinny or stick of rhubarb!), and a bludgeoned 29 off 16 balls from Rachel Baldwin meant that Devon were set 237 to win, a target that was probably about 20 beyond par.

From 40-2, and with star name Jodie Dibble (5) back in the hutch, Worcs were in the driving seat, but opener Amara Carr (68) and Cait O’Keefe (42) calmly put on 94, and then Sophie Mackenzie added a purposeful 28 off 26, including the only six of the afternoon, to leave the game evenly poised as Devon wanted 67 off 10 overs with seven wickets in hand.

However, both O’Keefe and Mackenzie fell in short order and the Devonian tail could not emulate Baldwin’s earlier fireworks, leaving them adrift on 201-8 as Worcs won by 35 runs. The added pressure of those extra 20 runs…

For the home side, fittingly on the day, it was a real team effort. Not one player shone higher than any other, although Thea Brookes quietly played a key role in the field with 10 overs for 34 to keep control whilst Devon were in the ascendency, including the key wicket of the well-set Carr, and then a fine steepling catch to dismiss Mackenzie as she looked to cut loose.

As for Devon, perhaps it was telling that three of their players played in un-numbered, un-named shirts, maybe pointing to difficulties raising a full team for the game? Certainly, once the top five had been dismissed there suddenly appeared an imbalance between the teams in those last 10 overs that had not been evident at any stage up to then, and was a pity after the first 90 had been so closely fought.

Off the field, a healthy crowd of around 200 watched on. Admission and parking was free, which should not necessarily be taken for granted at a County ground, so perhaps it was disappointing that more did not venture along.

If I wanted to be critical, more could have been done in terms of marketing the game – Worcestershire CCC’s own website, for instance, carried no mention of the match other than one news piece a mere 24 hours ahead of the game, and my father who is a long-standing County member, was not aware of it until I told him a few days beforehand. Given that they were paying staff to man the bar/catering and to steward the match, one would have thought it would be in their best interests to attract as many people as possible.

All that being said, this was a dipping of a toe in the water, and in that context the day has to be seen as a resounding success. If there is a next time, which there bloomin’ well should be, then the groundwork will have been done and the glitches can be ironed out.