For a long time, women’s cricket remained in the shadow of the men’s game without many people taking notice of it. Indeed, you sort of knew it was there but that was about it and in reality, the large majority of people certainly couldn’t name many of the game’s players or even when their country’s team was playing next. In short, the sponsors and broadcasters set the tone by only showcasing the men’s game and the public followed suit by only paying attention to this market.
However, the fact of the matter was that even if people weren’t watching en masse, women’s cricket was still being feverishly played behind the scenes. Perhaps the best example of this is the fact that the first Women’s World Cup was played in 1973, two years before the inaugural Men’s World Cup. Indeed, there was no lack of competitiveness or skill on show: the only thing that was missing was the cameras. Mercifully, it’s safe to say we’ve come a long way since 1973, and women’s cricket has rightfully been thrust into the spotlight after years of neglect. It’s important to note that this shift in attention isn’t the product of pity: it’s because the standard of quality on offer is world-class and worthy of accolade in its own right.
Fast forward to the present day and we know this to be the case as the excitement for the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand is at fever pitch and it isn’t just a niche market counting the days but rather the entire global cricket community.
The organizers of the twelfth Women’s World Cup know as much and have clearly capitalized on the buzz by scheduling India to play Pakistan in the tournament’s very first game. This is, essentially, a bid to strike whilst the iron is hot by giving the world what they want to see. Indeed, it’s a match-up that transcends cricket and in November 2021, the men’s fixture between these two nations made history by registering a whopping 167 million viewers. The exciting news for the women’s game is that, given how tense this affair normally is, the figures won’t be far off that and could very well be in excess of 100 million.
In essence, it’s a grudge match that is steeped in historical disputes between the two countries, which means that the world always comes to a standstill when they square up, irrespective of who is doing battle. Now, with such a vast anticipated global audience and given how exceptional the product of women’s cricket is, we’re likely to see the sport hugely benefit from the exposure and ultimately skyrocket in popularity over the course of the 2022 World Cup.
You could probably even go as far as to say that players in this opening game like Aliya Riaz and Mithali Raj are likely to become household names around the cricketing world after this first fixture due to how talented they are. Indeed, the clamor around them and others will be unprecedented and it won’t be long before these megastars are idolized by fans from all walks of life as they become role models to millions. For instance, it is entirely possible that following the World Cup, we see the game’s best players like Riaz and Raj as the main picks in fantasy cricket league, such will be the demand for more access to the women’s game.
Fantasy sports is a good example given that it also exploded onto the scene a few years ago and is a yardstick to measure any sport’s popularity. In particular, certain territorial markets seem to be succeeding due to widespread interest from users. For example, a record-breaking number of players are immersed in the many fantasy sports Australia has to offer, which goes to show that the Aussie culture of both playing and supporting sports, especially cricket, remains strong. There are, of course, a decent number of choices when it comes to fantasy sports sites in Australia but notably, women’s fantasy cricket isn’t included yet on said sites so that may well be one of the developments to watch out for in the build-up to the World Cup, but more likely, at the conclusion of it.
Naturally, that won’t deem the 2022 World Cup to be a success or not, but with so much growth forecast for the women’s game, it will be fascinating to see which sectors take note of the changing tides and implement their own modifications based on this. One thing’s for certain, though: the women’s game is on the verge of rivaling the men’s for popularity with an explosive 2022 predicted.
Author of the poetry book ‘The Scent of Rhythm’, I am a passionate writer and a Sports enthusiast who writes on Cricket and plays Badminton.
