News

INDIA v AUSTRALIA – TEST DAY 3: India Crushed as Healy Goes Out on a High

Posted by

0

Helen Maynard-Casely at the WACA

Australian captain Alyssa Healy contemplates the pitch decoration as she walks out to shake hands with the Indian team. Image credit Andy Casely

It took less than 100 minutes today for Australia to wrap up the Test with a bow. Even as they strode out to the middle the Indian batters knew that this was a tough day at the office. That said, returning batters Pratika Rawal and Sneh Rana set to business in the first 30 minutes, and Rawal turned her 43 overnight into a half century. The batters worked past the 125 run deficit from the first innings and began to build a lead. But they faced the spin of Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King, and with a WACA pitch starting to crack in after the high heat that was never going to end well.

Just as we were thinking of looking up the records for India 7th wicket partnerships, Gardner’s bowling beat Rana’s outside edge and she was wandering back to the sidelines. The nameless* Kashvee Gautam came and went for a duck – not able to replicate her heroic 34 runs from the first innings when Alyssa Healy plucked a ball in the slips from Alana King’s delivery. Soon after Sayali Satghare fell similarly to close fielding off King’s bowling. The Indian innings was dealt its final blow when Annabelle Sutherland made an insane amount of ground to take a diving catch sent sky high by Rawal off of Garner’s delivery. India were only 24 runs ahead.

The change of innings was rapid, and Australian openers Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll were perhaps impatient to get into their ice baths. A small wobble of a LBW challenge on Voll hardly seemed to phase the pair, and in the 4th over the innings it was the Queenslander who swept a classy shot through the close field to the boundary to bring up the total, the match and the series.

Beth Mooney hugs Alyssa Healy, and we can only interpret quite how much went into that hug. From shared experiences, to the passing of the gloves, a tender moment to witness. Image credit Andy Casely

And so ended the 152nd Women’s Test, not perhaps a classic of the genre, but notable for Australia as they have now won three test matches in a row, well and truly reversing the spate of drawn Tests. Despite the team only playing on average one Test a year, they have found the tactics to force a win, and with this exerted dominance on the multi-format series that they have played.

One can use this juncture to wax lyrical on the departure of Alyssa Healy from both captaincy and the international game. On reflection it is not so much that she was an innovator of the women’s game, but she was the most stalwart of ambassadors. Having worked in the game through the advent of professionalism and overseeing the transition, she was the ultimate advocate in nudging space and visibility for the women’s game. This was of course coupled by her fierce determination to never be anyone’s niece, or wife, but very much a cricketer to excel in her very own right. We are glad we got to watch her play, and because of her impact many more will grace a similar stage.

*OK, this should be explained, the author is still rather fuming that ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY (of all occasions) the Indian cricket team can send a player into the TEST field without the dignity of including her name on her shirt (she literally had duct tape covering over another’s name on her shirt). Though such actions should never detract from the players themselves it is a reflection of how the administration that oversees them views them.

Helen (Crystallised Cricket) is a writer based in Dharug and Gundagarra country, and here is writing about a game played on Whadjuk country. She acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands that she writes from.

INDIA v AUSTRALIA – TEST DAY 1: Australian Smiles as India Struggle

Posted by

0

Helen Maynard-Casely at the WACA

Australia have the upper hand after the first day in their one off Test against India. India batted first and despite several batters getting good starts, the visitors struggled to 198 runs in their first innings. Today not only marked the start of the Test, but also the first game since the West Australian Cricket Association ground’s upgrades were completed. The players greeted not only new stands and manicured grass hills, but also the novelty of people spectating as they queue for a water slide that snakes down one of the light towers. (The opportunity to actually watch the cricket from within a swimming pool will definitely be indulged by this author at some point in the proceedings).


As the floodlights started to dominate the WACA twilight, Australia contemplate how to finish off the Indian tail.

The teams took on the WACA pitch and heat today in the 152nd Women’s test. To put that into context, the most experienced Test player competing today, Ellyse Perry, was contesting her 15th Test match. In the time since she made her Test debut in 2008, the Australian men’s side have played 196 Test matches.

So this rare contesting of the format inspires much joy, always coupled with a little trepidation. The joy was apparent with the awarding of a baggy green to Lucy Hamilton, and the trepidation evident in both sides batting form.

Harmapreet Kaur led a side changed somewhat from the ODI series, adjusting for injuries and looking for players to suit the conditions. Australian captain Alyssa Healy won the toss and put the visitors into bat, with Hamilton’s excitement extending to the first wicket of the match, when she took out Smitri Mandhana’s middle stump in the 5th over. Shafali Verma capitalised on a cautious start to her innings, but with 35 runs on the board, she nicked an Annabelle Sutherland delivery to the waiting gloves of keeper Beth Mooney. By the first break of the day India were on shaky ground at 4/99 with captain Kaur and Pratika Rawal also out.

Into the late afternoon diminutive Jemimah Rodrigues worked to push the looming Australian field out and away from her. With both Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield fielding under the lids close in, she seemed surrounded and isolated from Deepti Sharma at the other end. They weathered this close field that accompanied Ash Gardner’s bowling waiting for their chances. As crowd favourite Alana King was brought in midway through the second session, Rodrigues took her chance – putting several boundaries away. This accelerated her towards her half century, bringing that up in the 57th over – off 70 deliveries. But this was to be the only milestone reached by the Indian batters – with Sharma, Richa Ghosh then Rodrigues all sending shots into the waiting hands of the Australian fielders.

As shadows lengthened in the middle session of the day-night match, the Indian tail fought on, Kashvee Gautam in particular hitting a number of good boundaries. But this wasn’t to last, and as night fell so did the final Indian wickets, resulting in a first innings total of 198. Sutherland was the most successful of the Australian bowlers with 4 wickets for her 17 over, conceding only 46 runs; plus three wickets for debutant Lucy Hamilton.

Under lights the Australian openers Georgia Voll and Phoebe Litchfield strode out. Neither looked comfortable in the conditions, and seemed rattled early by India’s pace openers. Voll’s wicket, bowled for only 2 runs by Sayali Satghare, brought the sun-faded helmet of its owner Ellyse Perry to the crease. After weathering some attritional deliveries, Perry released tension by cracking an on drive to the boundary to the delight of the crowd. But the home team were not to find comfort for too long – a lightning quick diving effort from Rodrigues snatched a seemingly impossible catch to dismiss Litchfield.

Suddenly Healy and Pez were at the crease together, and as much as many of us hoped it would never end, the classic partnership was relatively short-lived with Healy getting dismissed by Sayali’s bowling forcing her to hit an uppish shot for an easy catch by Rodridges. The day was seen out at the crease by Pez and Pez 2.0 (aka Sutherland), with both settled under the floodlights and with Indian bowling in the last part of the day’s play. Australia will return tomorrow with two previous double centenarians wanting to build on what India may already be viewing as an ominous partnership.

Helen (Crystallised Cricket) is a writer based in Dharug and Gundagarra country, and here is writing about a game played on Whadjuk country. She acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands that she writes from.

WNCL: NSW Breakers Dodge Thunder to Secure Finals Spot

Posted by

0

By Helen Maynard-Casely

In the Southern Hemisphere the cricket season is getting to the pointy end. Those out of the running for finals are probably looking towards the off-season. It’s now round 6 (the penultimate) of the WNCL and it is down to only a few teams in the hunt for the two final spots. NSW Breakers, current table leaders by a margin, came into the round in pole position only needing one more win to secure their spot, but the chase for who will join them is on. WA have already continued their bid for this, with a double win over Victoria in this round. SA will be visiting ACT later in the round, needing two wins in Canberra to keep their final hopes alive. QLD Fire have a bye this round, so can only wait it out for now.

But eyes today were to NSW who were hosting Tasmania at Cricket Central. The Breakers, wanting to consolidate the top of the standing and punt towards hosting rights for the final; vs Tasmania, unfortunately not in the hunt for finals, but looking to regain form after a challenging middle part of the season.

Tasmanian ranks were bolstered by the return of both Lizelle Lee from the WPL and Kathryn Bryce from Scotland duties. NSW retained Alyssa Healy in the side, but Ellyse Perry’s spell for her state is over now, as she is with the Australian squad for the international series against India already in full swing. In her place NSW bought in young gun Lucy Finn for her first state cap – last seen with her heroic-but-unsuccessful 49 not out for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, the tall pace bowler would add to the NSW attack.

Not only did the sides today have to battle each other, but the heat was oppressive especially in the first innings. Tasmania won the toss and put NSW in to bat in a humid 33 degrees Celsius, but with the humidity it felt more like 37 in the middle.

The Breakers had a good powerplay, getting 57 runs on the board and only losing Healy, who flighted the second delivery by Courtney Sippel to the short mid-wicket fielder. With Tahlia Wilson following her a few overs later, this brought together Katie Mack and Anika Learoyd at the crease. From here the two of them formed a partnership to anchor the innings, weathering spells of tricksy bowling from the Tasmanians. Spin in particular seemed to tie them both down, and during the middle overs runs were hard to come by. But they persisted, and by the time the partnership was broken as Learoyd played an ill-advised ramp shot in search of the boundary and her fifty, NSW were at a healthy 195 runs for three wickets in the 34th over.

Katie Mack continued, supported by both Claire Moore then Maitlan Brown, but she fell one run short of her century, caught by Emma Manix-Geeves off Bryce’s bowling as she pulled a shot over her shoulder. A clatter of wickets at the end had NSW all out as they completed their overs, posting 274 runs – which included 5 penalty runs incurred when the ball hit Lizelle Lee’s discarded helmet during the innings.

With 275 to chase down, Tasmania would have hoped that openers Lee and Rachel Treneman (currently the leading run scorer in the competition) would put a good dent in the total. That was not to be the case, with Breakers captain Lauren Cheatle bowling Trenaman in the opening over, the ball finding middle stump to send the bails flying. The second over saw Lizelle Lee caught amazingly by a sprawling Sam Bates at deep fine leg for a duck. With Elyse Villani and Ruth Johnston following them back to the pavilion soon after the Tasmanian innings was in disarray at 4/22 in only the 6th over. But like the NSW innings, Tasmanian batters Emma Manix-Geeve and Kartyn Bryce formed an anchor partnership to bring themselves back into contention for the game. Manix-Geeves took a while to get runs, but suddenly in the 10th over worked out Maitlan Brown’s bowling and got three boundaries off consecutive balls, frustrating Brown’s tight bowling spell.

Manix-Geeves reaches her century, but ultimately in vain as Tasmania had a hard day out against NSW

From there Manix-Geeves and Bryce built a good partnership, going toe-to-toe in run accumulation. NSW started to change up the bowling in an effort to remove one of the pair, bringing Bates, Sarah Coyte, Lucy Finn then Frankie Nicklin into the mix. Nicklin made the breakthrough, trapping Bryce LBW, and seeing off the 85-run partnership.

As the Tasmanian innings progressed the temperature eased, and the light started to change as sun was filtered through building storm clouds. To the West threatening clouds were bubbling, and conscious that a lightning strike within 10 km would see players off the park eyes started to dart to the DLS runs required. Tasmania were tantalisingly getting towards DLS par a number of times, with NSW taking wickets to keep this jumping ahead. Though thunder was heard in the 31st over, the storms never quite broke into the Sydney basin, and the game continued to its conclusion. Manix-Geeves was able to go one run better than Katie Mack and reach 100 runs, only to be caught the next ball as she tried to push the run rate. From here Tasmania’s batters slipped more and more behind which in turn forced them to try and push the runs. This, coupled with a series of good catches held by NSW fielders, meant that by the time the 10th wicket fell Tasmania were 44 runs short.

So, for the 26th time in the WNCL NSW Breakers are in the final, on the back of an all-round team effort in the season so far. They will be looking for the double win when they host Tasmania again on Monday, which would secure them a home final.

Helen (Crystallised Cricket) is a writer based in Dharug and Gundagarra country, and here is writing about a game played on Dharug country. She acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands that she writes from.

WORLD CUP: England v Pakistan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

Posted by

1

To be fair to the ICC, no one really “decided” to co-host a World Cup in Sri Lanka in October. Given the political situation between India and Pakistan, they needed somewhere in the vicinity of India, and there weren’t too many other options. (The UAE was one I guess, but the heat was almost too much for 20-over cricket during the T20 World Cup last year, so it would not have been a good one for 50-over games.)

Nonetheless, if you were going to pick a month not to host these matches in Colombo, this would have been it: Colombo gets an average of 19 rainy days during a typical October – more than any other month of the year. For comparison, Manchester typically gets 17 rainy days in October – we’d literally have had less chance of rain if we’d scheduled these games at Old Trafford!

After England’s match against Pakistan was rained off, we’ve now had 3 “No Results” from 7 games so far in Colombo in this World Cup. The “winners” on this occasion were England, who you’d imagine would almost certainly have gone on to lose a 50-over game, having been reduced to 79-7 – totally unable to cope with Pakistan’s military-medium-paced seamers keeping the stumps in play.

With England’s openers dismissed cheaply again (Tammy Beaumont didn’t play a shot, while Amy Jones might as well not have done, to balls that nipped back in) social media was alive with calls for one or both of them to be dropped / dropped down the order. But given what subsequently transpired, with all 7 of England’s top order batters dismissed bowled or LBW, I’m not sure shooting Jones and / or Beaumont really solves the problem.

From a Pakistan perspective, they were robbed blind. Their tactics were simple but effective – keep the seam and the stumps in play, and let the ball do the rest – and the high-fives the coaches were giving each other in the dugout as each wicket fell, were well deserved. I predicted… admittedly slightly mischievously… that Pakistan could actually be the “4th” side in the semi-finals at this World Cup – partly due to not having the punishing travel schedule everyone else has; but also because they can be an effective side in the right circumstances – they are well-drilled in the basics, and sometimes that’s all you need. They didn’t deserve to come out of today with just a single point.

Women's World Cup – Qualification Analysis 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2025-10-15T16:40:32.129Z

As it stands now, England  remain unbeaten and atop the table. The “Magic Number” for qualification is now 9 points (India and New Zealand are yet to play each other, so they can’t both get 9) meaning England need to win just one of their 3 remaining matches to guarantee a semi-final spot. They barely deserve it, but baby… that’s show-business cricket for you.

WORLD CUP: England v Sri Lanka – 7½ Out Of Ten

Posted by

A run-a-ball century – 117 off 117 balls – from Nat Sciver-Brunt was the difference between England and Sri Lanka in Colombo, putting England top of the table as we approach the halfway mark in the group stages of this World Cup.

Women's World Cup – Qualification Analysis 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2025-10-11T16:48:24.533Z

Requiring 254, Sri Lanka lost the wicket of bright young hope Vishmi Gunaratne after Chamari Athapaththu had retired hurt; but Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama made decent progress and at the 20-over mark, Sri Lanka had the edge on the WinHer Win Predictor, with a 61% chance of victory.

England 253-9 v Sri Lanka 164 #CWC25 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2025-10-11T16:45:44.827Z

But the introduction of Sophie Ecclestone turned that equation on its head, with the spinner taking wickets in the 20th, 22nd and 24th overs, to put England in charge – turning a 61% chance of victory for Sri Lanka into an 83% chance for England, from which they never looked back.

Sophie added the cherry on top of the Eccles Cake with one more key wicket – that of the returning Athapaththu, as she bowled 10 overs straight through the middle phases.

The ball of the day however was reserved for Charlie Dean, with that early wicket of Gunaratne, who had no answer to one that pitched outside off before turning in between bat and pad to take the top of the leg bail.

With Linsey Smith finishing the day with an Economy Rate of 2.5 from 8 overs, plus the last wicket, it was a fantastic day for England’s specialist spinners, which is good news for everyone except possibly Em Arlott, who looks set to be the 2025 version of Beth Langston – one of only two members of England’s winning squad in 2017 to not get a single outing in the tournament. (Pop Quiz: Who was the other? Answer at the bottom!)

The one caveat with England’s bowling remains filling in those extra overs that Nat Sciver-Brunt can’t bowl. NSB bowled 5 overs today, briefly leaving the field after her first spell – we were officially told this was for a “bathroom break”, but the timing was “interesting” and if she accidentally bumped into the physio whilst she was back in the dressing room, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Alice Capsey again filled-in those additional overs, and did so competently, but if England really want her to be a proper, front-line spinning all-rounder, there is still work to do with the bowling coaches.

Earlier in the day, England had posted a decent total, but once again it was almost wholly reliant on a huge slice of luck, and one player – NSB on this occasion – taking advantage and going on to score almost half their runs. Sciver-Brunt was horribly dropped by Udeshika Prabodhani at midwicket when she was still in single-figures; and if that catch had been taken, the game could have turned out very differently, with no other England batter making more than Tammy Beaumont’s 32.

Beaumont and Amy Jones both looked unconvincing again. Jones was doubly-guilty for her own run out – ball watching as Beaumont called her through for a quick single, and then failing to dive in as she was run out by 6 inches; whilst Beaumont danced down the wicket and was far too early on a ball which she ended up toe-ending to extra cover.

With Heather Knight inexplicably pulling out a reverse sweep and oh-so-predictably being caught at short third, there was a lesson to be learned, and NSB learned it – keep it simple, and run hard.

NSB Boundary % in International Cricket #CWC25 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2025-10-11T13:59:40.519Z

NSB’s boundary percentage in international cricket has been falling for the past couple of years, and it was even lower than normal at just over 9% today; but it was what the situation demanded – efficiency was the watchword, and she watched it like a hawk. The 6 that brought up her century was typical – it wasn’t a Big Shot™ but it went far enough, safely enough, to get the job done.

England 253-9 v Sri Lanka 164 #CWC25 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2025-10-11T16:45:27.126Z

As we’ve seen a few teams do in this tournament, England waited and waited before going big at the end, sacrificing wickets in the last 5 overs to put on 49 in that final push. They finished 9 down, but wickets at that point are worth very little compared to runs on the board. With Athapaththu having already said in her pre-game interview that she felt Sri Lanka could chase 230, the implication was that much more would be tough to get. And so it proved.

This was far from the perfect England performance – I’d give it 7½ out of 10. The bowling was solid; but England really need their batting line-up as a whole to find some form, and with just one “easier” game remaining – their next outing against Pakistan – there isn’t much time to do it.

The other member of the 2017 squad not to play a game? Georgia Elwiss.

EXCLUSIVE: Middlesex To Go Pro By 2029

Posted by

2

Middlesex Director of Cricket Alan Coleman has told CRICKETher that the club intend to self-fund professional contracts by 2029, in order to ensure they are best-placed to progress into Tier One.

Last year, Middlesex failed in their bid to host a Tier One side, meaning they will be locked out of the top tier of women’s domestic cricket for at least the next 4 years.

But the club have embarrassed the ECB with their results this season, winning 18 of their 21 matches, beating Yorkshire twice, and finishing as inaugural champions in the Tier Two Women’s Vitality Blast.

“The game at Northants where we won the T20 was an astounding effort – I’ve never seen a team go through a whole Finals Day without losing a wicket,” Coleman said.

“It’s a challenge that the team have embraced, being amateurs, against professional teams – not only Yorkshire but Glamorgan, who are going to be Tier One in 2027.”

Middlesex’s challenge now is how best to keep together and develop a team of amateurs, many of whom are doing demanding full-time jobs – as typified by all-rounder Gaya Gole, who works long hours as a Management Consultant in the City.

For Coleman – who was present at Middlesex’s semi-final against Yorkshire on Sunday – the answer is for the club to directly invest in their women’s squad.

“Middlesex are incredibly ambitious and desperately want to invest in our women’s team,” he said. “There’s no greater deserving team for that investment.”

“Our challenge is to keep improving and keep developing across this period to ensure that we are as ready as possible for Tier 1 cricket as and when hopefully the ECB decide to open it up.”

“This is year 1 of a 4-year plan to be professional at the end of that period. And we almost want to, without sounding arrogant, take it out of the ECB’s hands and say, ‘You have to make us professional because of the performances that our players have put in, in Tier 2’.”

“So that’s the plan, and a part of that will be ensuring that our players are rewarded for the cricket that they play.”

The club are still working out exactly what that looks like, but we shouldn’t be surprised if we see the first tranche of part-time contracts awarded ahead of next season.

“We need to continue to invest in this very, very talented group of players to ensure they get the opportunity they deserve,” Coleman added.

THE HUNDRED: Brave v Fire – Fire’s Batters Burn Out At The Bowl

Posted by

Southern Brave will go into Sunday’s Hundred final with an unbeaten record of 8 wins from 8 matches, after pulling a rabbit out of a hat to defend 106 at the Utilita Bowl.

It makes them the first team in the history of the competition to finish the group stages undefeated. When Brave won the tournament previously, back in 2023, their one loss in 8 games came against Fire at home in Southampton – but Fire couldn’t spoil their party again today.

Meerkat Match Hero Lauren Bell added to her chart-topping wicket-tally (19 at 7.47) with extraordinary figures of 4 for 6, including a third set during which Tammy Beaumont and Jess Jonassen both holed out to fielders in the deep.

But Bell was the beneficiary of a team bowling effort in which Brave’s four spinners – Chloe Tryon, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Georgia Adams and Mady Villiers – put a stranglehold on Fire’s chase. Even before the wickets started to fall, Fire’s lack of runs had swung the Win-Her dial in Brave’s favour:

Brave 106-8 v Fire 77-9 #The100 🏏

— CRICKETher (@crickether.com) 2025-08-28T16:40:26.724Z

“It was a tricky pitch,” Bell said afterwards. “We chatted about it before we went out, that dots were going to be massive, almost as important as wickets, and as soon as the run rate got above a run a ball on that pitch we knew it would be a tricky chase. Mads [Villiers] and Coco [Corteen-Coleman] and Gads [Adams] bowled some really important sets.”

Bell gave the credit to her teammates but the fact that Fire scored just 47 runs in their first 50 balls, despite only being 1 wicket down, is symptomatic of just how miserable their efforts with the bat have been this season. Between them, Fire’s top five batters have managed two half-centuries this season – both scored by one Sophia Dunkley. Hayley Matthews – who was talismanic for Fire in their 2024 campaign – has barely scraped a run together, averaging 19.

Today, she was scratchiness personified, managing just a single boundary before failing to get the necessary elevation to clear Villiers at deep midwicket. With Matthews in a slump-spiral as deep as this, it’s perhaps a good thing that West Indies won’t be featuring in October’s World Cup.

Brave had themselves struggled with the bat, sinking to 14 for 2 early on after Fire put them in to bat on a pitch made sticky with rain. With Sunday’s final looming, Brave chose to fiddle around with their middle order to offer chances to Freya Kemp, Chloe Tryon, Villiers and Georgia Adams, who have had very little to do with the bat this season. Adams, for example, had faced just 11 balls prior to today’s match; but her elevation to number 6 against the Fire gave Brave’s skipper (who finished 30 not out from 26 balls) to bat herself into a modicum of form.

Not only did that ensure Brave got to a total which was (just about) defendable, it could end up mattering a lot on Sunday if the final proves to be a tight match.

EXCLUSIVE: New Zealand Cricket Defend No Women’s Tests In The New Future Tours Programme

Posted by

1

New Zealand Cricket have confirmed to CRICKETher that they have no immediate plans to reintroduce women’s Test cricket, after the ICC issued a new FTP which appeared to rule out any Tests for the White Ferns until at least 2029.

The new FTP – available here – shows a significant increase in scheduled Tests, with Australia, England, India, South Africa and the West Indies all agreeing to play multi-format series. West Indies will be participating in the format for the first time since 2004.

The new FTP leaves New Zealand out in the cold, as the only top-six nation who refuse to support women’s Test cricket.

A spokesperson for New Zealand Cricket told CRICKETher: “We haven’t got any plans to re-introduce Test cricket for the White Ferns at this stage.”

New Zealand’s recent victory in the T20 World Cup had sparked hopes that New Zealand Cricket might be persuaded to change their stance, but it seems not.

The spokesperson added: “Our thoughts are that we’re better to concentrate our current resources and investment on T20I and ODI cricket in order to grow the women’s game in New Zealand.”

“The limited overs formats have proven to be very effective in terms of attracting and retaining young players, which is a significant factor in the health of the women’s game here. In time, this will provide a bigger base from which talented players will emerge to ultimately play for the White Ferns.”

“Focussing on formats which include ICC global events (such as World Cups) is our preference for now.”

The spokesperson did offer a small glimmer of hope – concluding: “Never say never.”

Sadly, that might not be soon enough for Suzie Bates & co.

NEWS: Twenty20 Community Cricket Launch New Girls’ “Transitioning To Hardball” Programme

Posted by

“My daughter Lola has thrived under Darren’s coaching, had fantastic opportunities and made fantastic friends. We are so glad she found Darren and Twenty20 Community Cricket.” Louise, mum of Lola

Twenty20 Community Cricket are launching a brand-new coaching programme for girls, specifically designed to plug the gap in the development pathway for those curious about transitioning from soft to hardball cricket. The programme comes hot on the heels of MD and Founder Darren Talbot winning the Outstanding Contribution to Coaching award at the recent Surrey Cricket Foundation Cricket Collective event at the Kia Oval.

It is a course Darren dreamt up after much time spent in and around the girls’ cricket coaching environment, during which he noticed how female players are underserved in comparison with their male counterparts.

“Boys typically play cricket from a young age,” explains Talbot, “and come into a club environment where there is a long-standing progression pathway through which they can travel. In many cases for girls, those pathways are still being constructed, and though it is fantastic that the quantity of females coming in through the likes of the All Stars programme is so high, many drop off when faced with the proposition of hardball training.”

The Twenty20 Community Cricket “Transitioning to Hardball” programme is designed to entice these very players to stay in cricket, allowing them to make an informed choice in an environment tailored towards their needs. It takes place each Friday evening at RGS school in Guildford, running until December 13 and followed up with matches across the summer over and above club games, which take priority.

It is a logical extension of the girls’ development programmes that Twenty20 Community Cricket have delivered so successfully over recent years, as acknowledged at the aforementioned Surrey Cricket Foundation awards event. The Outstanding Contribution to Coaching award recognises those who have gone above and beyond in the county of Surrey, in the name of expanding reach and opportunity for people to play this great game of ours. 

“I am very proud of the work we’ve undertaken to drive girls’ participation,” explains Darren. “Whilst the award is recognition for all of the hard work put in by the team, it is important that we recognise that there is more to do to truly level the playing field.” 

The premise of Twenty20 Community Cricket is to bring quality cricket coaching to state school educated children, at a time when such provision has dwindled beyond recognition. The programme has now expanded to include the participation of over 50 girls across the 11-18 age range. Success has come not just in strength of numbers though; whilst several have gone on to play at county age group level and in adult cricket, Darren and his team also manage the MCC Foundation Guildford Hub, for which the girls won the national tournament at Lords in both 2023 and 2024. 

More can be heard from Darren in a forthcoming exclusive interview on the Community Cricket Podcast from Tuesday 1 October: https://pod.link/CommunityCricketPodcast

Find out more here: https://www.twenty20cricketcompany.com