One of the best things, that cricket fans adore, is visiting the golden past. The Past seems vintage, with a coat of class and magnificence. With lockdown, there is a lot to digest. The mere fact that the world is upside-down seems devastating but fans have their way. They rely on archives.
ICC has thankfully opened its archives and clashes from the past are covered ball-by-ball. But the fans that we are talking about, reside in their shades. They are ardent, traditional cricket followers who have very little idea of any other manifest. It is a fact that not a single percent of gully gurus of cricket know that women played a world cup in cricket before men.
They might comment on the power-hitting of English batters but won’t know that White Ferns have the record for the highest one day total in a Cricket match. It was in 2018. White Ferns are the New Zealand women cricketers. On this day, June 8, 2018 they were batting first in Dublin. Their contest was up against the home side. New Zealand wanted to bat first after the toss but little they knew that this inning was going to stay eternal in memories.
#OnThisDay NZ Created WORLD RECORD 🚨
New Zealand women amassed 491 for 4 – the highest total in all ODI cricket vs Ireland women at the YMCA Cricket Club in Dublin.#NZvIRE @SuzieWBates @WHITE_FERNS @MaddyLGreen pic.twitter.com/8BbC4oPfad
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 8, 2020
Jess Watkin and Suzie bats came out to open. Their partnership for the first wicket signaled that there is no going back. In 19 overs, New Zealand were 172. Watkin was just walking out after adding 62 to the total. Bates had plans to stay. She made sure that her opening partner wasn’t missed and got herself a score of 151. Alongside Maddy Green, she added 116 runs to the total. Green came out with a scorecard flashing 122 against her name. It was total domination.
When the thriller demanded an end, Amelia Kerr stepped in and smashed 81 off 45. When the scoreboard was looked upon, it narrated digits and those numbers said history is made. White Ferns had scored 491 after losing 4 wickets. Irish side in reply got bundled for a mere 144 and New Zealand had a victory of 344 runs. The difference in the scores of the team is considered a mammoth total in a one day game.
Did you know?
New Zealand Women’s team just love scoring runs. 😃@WHITE_FERNS pic.twitter.com/7mG7ChOozF
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 8, 2020
Leigh Kasperek got four wickets for her side. Interestingly, there are three other matches in women cricket which have bigger win margins. These numbers suggest that the perception of female Cricket lacking action is fairly outdated. Women have Shafali Verma who thrashes bowlers from the word go. Women have Ellyse Perry who can win the match with bat and ball as well. Its time that people are shown the heroics. Its time they wake up.
Loves all things female cricket