The Aussie media had predicted Captain Carnage as the Lanning-Led Melbourne Stars took on the Scorchers at the WACA in Perth; but in the end it was England captain Charlotte Edwards who served it up… whilst The Megastar™ just got served.

Having called the toss correctly and chosen to bat; Lanning herself faced the first over from Katherine Brunt. It began “dot, dot, dot” and it ended “dot, dot, dot”… and we wouldn’t be surprised if the two were punctuated by a “dash, dash, dash” from the strikers end, as Brunt nailed Lanning to her crease for an opening maiden.

Brunt finished with figures of 4 overs, 1 maiden, 1 for 11. Lanning never really got going, making 27 from 31; whilst South African skipper Mignon du Preez, playing her first game for the Stars after flying-in from her tropical-island honeymoon, probably wished she was back there, struggling to 10 off 21.

With the Stars closing on 102-6, the Scorchers needed 103. What they didn’t need was their much-touted debutante – Deandra Dottin – making a four-ball duck, quickly followed back to the pavilion by Nicole Bolton (2) and Heather Graham (3).

But despite being slightly behind the curve at 58-4 after 13 overs, the Scorcher’s trump cards were their English imports – Charlotte Edwards, still at the crease having opened the batting, and joined then by Katherine Brunt.

Brunt played a very-much supporting role as Edwards accelerated towards the target, reaching it with 4 balls to spare, finishing on 61* off 56 balls and a Man of the Match award to show the Aussie media there’s more than one megastar in this game!

Star Sports, the “host” broadcaster for the up-coming World T20 in India, has confirmed that it will be televising 10 of the 23 matches which make up the women’s tournament, which runs concurrently with the men’s event in March/ April next year.

Star will show the semi-finals, final and 7 selected “group” matches – four of which you’d imagine will be those involving India.

Because of the nature of the broadcast deal between Star and the ICC, CRICKETher understands that it is highly unlikely that Sky would be able to show any matches in the UK other than those being televised by Star, so our chances of seeing all of England’s games would appear to be minimal. (And ditto for fans in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.)

Nevertheless, this is still a substantial improvement over the 2014 WWT20 in Bangladesh, when only the semis and final were shown live.

At the end of another busy weekend in the WBBL, Sarah Taylor and Danni Wyatt made the headlines, as the Renegades and the Strikers recorded their first wins… but it’s Heather Knight’s Hobart Hurricanes who still head things up at the half-way stage.

Danni Wyatt put in a true all-rounder’s performance – taking 4-13 as the Renegades bowled-out the Heat for just 110; and then following up with 28* off 21 balls as her Melbourne side crossed the line in the 17th over.

Meanwhile, Sarah Taylor’s Adelaide Strikers found themselves staring down the barrel of a 5th straight defeat, after a Sydney Thunder team effort saw them post 148-6 – Nicola Stalenberg top-scoring with 39. But coming in at the top of the order, Taylor smashed 71* off 47 balls to lead the Strikers home with 6 balls to spare.

Hitting the road to Sydney, after 4 home matches last weekend, the Hurricanes “Cane Train” shared the spoils in their home-and-away double-header with the Perth Scorchers. (Yes… the concept of Home and Away is a bit all-over-the-place in WBBL!)

In the first game, Heather Knight hit 74 off 59 balls, as the Hurricanes sneaked yet another close victory by just 1 run. But the Scorchers got their revenge in the afternoon, as Crinny Hall’s 53 wasn’t quite enough to rescue the Hurricanes after an early collapse, and they went down by 4 wickets.

But then the Hurricanes showed the world how to beat the Melbourne Stars – put runs (144 of them) on the board… and then get Meg Lanning out early – The Megastar “failed” for once, scoring just 20, and the Stars subsequently collapsed to 114 all out; meaning the Hurricanes once again finish the weekend at Number 1!

So, here’s where we stand at the half way point in the league. Bearing in mind that the top 4 qualify for the semi-finals, it could still be anyone’s championship; but the Hurricanes look pretty well-placed as do the Heat; while the Sixers in particular have a big ask to turn things around after Christmas.

The sad death of Jimmy Hill, described by the BBC as “one of English football’s most influential figures”, was announced today.

Hill will no doubt be remembered for his football punditry, especially on Match of the Day, as well as his reign as chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Not many will remember him for his relationship with women’s cricket. But I will.

Hill was born in 1928 in Balham. In one interview in 1985, he recalled his days growing up in the 1930s in south London:

“We were a cricketing family. My father often took me to see Fulham. My stepbrother, Wally, played football and cricket… My step-sister, Irene, played cricket for England. They were quite a bit older than me and they dragged me around to watch them.

The first time I went on a train was when Wally took me to see the Redoubtables play cricket at Beddington. It was only three stops down the line but to me going on a train was as exciting as today’s kids would feel about travelling on Concorde.”

Irene Panton never actually played a Test for England, but she certainly played at the highest level in the early organised years of the sport – the Women’s Cricket Association was set up in 1926, five years after Irene’s club, Redoubtables, formed. Sadly she was killed in a motorcycle accident in the late 1930s.

When I heard the news of Hill’s death, it took me back to the time several years ago when, going through the archives of the Surrey-based women’s club Redoubtables WCC as part of my PhD – the club still exists, and now play at Purley CC – I stumbled upon the most amazing series of correspondence between Molly Gilbert, then club secretary, and Hill himself:

October, 1985:

“Dear Mr Hill,

I was so delighted and surprised to read your ‘potted’ autobiography in the ‘Roots’ article in the Sunday Express Magazine. It was great to think that you remembered our Club name and were kind enough to mention it. We are still a club of keen players…When you came with Irene I was Match Secretary. I remember her so well, she was a lovely girl and a great player. Her early death was such a tragedy…

I also remember her friend Joyce Wawman… ‘Panton’ and ‘Wawman’ used to bring a small boy to our matches who may have been the brother of either of them, ie you.

I have a small snapshot of some of our members at that time accompanied by a small boy (Irene Panton is in the picture). We would be most interested to find out if we have a famous portrait or not. I think Irene and Joyce joined us in 1932 and we have five ‘old girls’ still interested in the Club, one as President (Miss S Swinburne OBE for Services to Women’s Cricket), two as vice-presidents, myself as Secretary (since 1935!!) and one other and we all remember Irene well.”

December, 1985:

“Dear Molly,

Thank you for your letter following ‘Roots’. Forgive my late reply… I’m certain I was the young boy in the photograph. Joyce Wawman was a kind of cousin who lived with us and who continued to take me around even after Irene’s death.

I remember your name well and Sylvia Swinburne too… Thank you for writing and do have a very happy new year.

Your sincerely, Jimmy (Hill).”

January, 1986:

“Dear Mr Hill,

Thank you so much for your letter… the Women’s Cricket Association is 60 years old this year and they are arranging a celebration match between two teams made up of first class players from all over the country. The match to take place at Bramley Cricket Club on Sunday 8^th June, afternoon… We are hoping to have several famous people at the match (to draw the crowds) and I do hope you still have enough love of the game to come along and meet present day players. If you can possibly spare the time, we should all be delighted to meet you.”

February, 1986:

“Molly,

I’m afraid I shall be in Mexico in the World Cup on June 8^th, otherwise I would have been delighted to have come along. Perhaps there will be an opportunity on another occasion. Do please keep me informed if there is another match that I might attend after August.”

Sadly the correspondence ended there. I like to think that perhaps Hill did, though, attend another Redoubtables match or two after his trip down memory lane.

So there you have it. Jimmy Hill, 1928-2015: football pundit, player, chairman, manager and analyser…and friend of women’s cricket.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.