CHENNAI: Women’s cricket is on the rise. Monday was another day confirming that. The International Cricket Council said it has submitted a bid for women’s T20 cricket to be included at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Birmingham. After conducting the Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean as a standalone event, this is seen as a step to popularise the women’s sport.
The CWG bid has been made in partnership with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). If it is successful, the top eight T20 sides would take part.
“We would like cricket to lead the way in the Commonwealth in inspiring more young girls to take up sport regardless of background or culture. Imagine the impact of millions of young girls watching women’s cricket in the Commonwealth Games and being empowered with the knowledge that they too can play cricket, represent their country and compete on a global stage,” said ICC chief executive David Richardson.
From few followers a decade ago to record-breaking viewership for last year’s 50-over World Cup, women’s cricket has come a long way. In India alone, a whopping 150 million saw the tournament. This speaks volumes of interest increasing, in terms of investment of time and money.
“Women’s cricket is gaining momentum. It (CWG inclusion) will be a big opportunity to showcase their mettle worldwide, which in turn will inspire more girls to be actively involved in cricket. Women’s game is on the right track. The World T20 held as a standalone event was a huge stepping stone,” says former India coach and player Sudha Shah.
Men’s cricket has been part of CWG once before — South Africa winning the competition in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur. Sixteen teams participated including top ones like India, Australia alongside teams such as Malaysia and Canada. Matches were played in the 50-over format with List A status.
But with increased awareness now, former India international Mamatha Maben believes the new step will enhance the image and value. “Men have so many tournaments and they are recognised widely. For girls, it will be a platform to perform on the world stage. We had cricket in CWG once, but it didn’t work because it was an amateur thing. Most teams sent their second string of players. Now it will be played professionally. It will add one more tournament to the calendar that will be publicised and followed. T20 is the ideal format for such an event. The fast-paced game will draw more audience,” said the 48-year-old.
With the Commonwealth Games Federation’s one of the three core values being equality — the other two are humanity and destiny — the move to include women’s cricket is a testament of things heading up in right direction for female athletes.
(srinidhi@newindianexpress.com)