The State of Women’s Cricket
Even though women’s cricket has been around for decades, many fans look to the 2015 launch of the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia as when the recent surge in popularity really took off.
The Women’s World Cup and other events had already attracted new levels of interest but it has been the T20 format of the game in particular that has helped the sport grow in terms of media coverage. There is a wider appreciation for the women’s game now and all the best betting sites offer markets covering women’s competitions.
In a way, the increased popularity of T20 competitions and the women’s game has gone hand in hand. Many of these tournaments run side by side with the men’s equivalent and have made it quite normal for the supporter of a men’s team to also be a supporter of the women’s team. In effect, those fans just support the overall team – regardless of the players.
Women’s Cricket in 2022
This year has already seen the Ashes between Australia and England, with the multi-format nature of the series proving very popular with those new to the women’s game.
We have also had the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup held in New Zealand during March and April. The hosts were unable to make it past the initial stage and Australia, once again, overcame England in the final to continue its dominance of the ODI game.
The Hundred
Although the T20 format of the game has undoubtedly been a major force in bringing women’s cricket to the fore, there was another competition that did a lot of good work in England last year.
The Hundred was criticized by traditionalists from its inception. But this revolutionary new 100-ball game has been able to win over even more fans across the country and is set to be a success once again in 2022.
The women’s game was probably boosted more by the competition and scheduling double headers of men’s and women’s fixtures turned out to be a major draw for new fans especially. The quick turnaround of fixtures in the school summer holidays certainly helped attract a new kind of crowd and the potential for more overseas players this season makes things even more exciting.
Commonwealth Games
Birmingham will host the Commonwealth Games this summer – and for the first time since 1998, cricket will be involved. The exciting news is that the competition will follow a T20 format and there will only be a women’s event.
Edgbaston will host all games and a really interesting aspect of the eight-team competition is that Barbados will be represented as a stand alone team, rather than the usual West Indies team. All other countries are from the ICC rankings and it would not be a surprise if the final were contested between Australia and England.
T20 World Cup Next Year
With not as much criticism from older fans compared to the men’s game, T20 has been able to take women’s cricket to new heights – and the latest edition of the ICC World Cup in that format will take place in South Africa next year.
Australia remains the team to beat after winning the last two World Cups and remaining at the top of the ICC rankings. The final line up for the ten-team tournament is still to be decided, with the qualifying event providing the final two nations.
The Future of International and Domestic Women’s Cricket
In short, the future of the women’s game looks very bright indeed. The crowds for both domestic and international tournaments are very encouraging and there has definitely been a surge in media interest and coverage in recent years.
With more broadcasters dedicated to treating the women’s game on a par with the men’s version, the steady scheduling of more and more events over the next few years can only be good for everyone involved.
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