Former international cricketer and Australian great Belinda Clark feels that to improve and develop women’s cricket, the focus should be more on the 50-over and 20-over formats rather than the longest form of the game, i.e. Test Cricket.
Since the ICC recently granted Test status to all full-member teams, Ireland, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe have joined the list of teams that can play test cricket, alongside the existing members Australia, India, New Zealand, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.
Clark, talking about how important it is for the teams to focus upon the ODIs and T20s during the ICC’s webinar said – “Focus for the women’s game needs to continue on the shorter formats, T20 and 50-overs, I say that because if our objective is to spread the game globally and grow depth in teams, you do need a focus and that focus needs to be directed at certain formats. I think the success we have seen is because of that focus. It is just a personal view but I think we have seen great success.”
The webinar was conducted to launch a unique mentorship program for all future female leaders. This program has been designed to provide support to all the females related to cricket in one or the other way and to bring in new leaders in position, globally.
🗨️In a webinar organized by @ICC, Australian legend Belinda Clark emphasized on keeping the focus on a shorter format to grow women’s cricket.
Read 👇👇 pic.twitter.com/YTmBqauWyr— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 19, 2021
While Ian Bishop, former West Indies cricketer, and current commentator expressed his views saying Test cricket should not be forgotten and shall be given importance while focusing on the shorter formats of the game. He feels that there are many young women players who aspire to play Test cricket and be a part of the game.
“It’s quite correct that the focus is where it needs to be most but I do know, several young women who yearn to play a Test match. Unfortunately, they’ve come up at a time where the women don’t really play Test match cricket in most of the nations. Hopefully, down the road, we are able to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of these women. I hope it is a continuous journey and it won’t stop at just white-ball cricket,” he said.
Source: ICC Media Release
I’m a Senior Masters student pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication. An all time Cricket enthusiast. I could never play the game but always loved watching it, and now writing about it!
