A walk along London’s St John Woods Road to Lord’s cricket ground will bring you to the iconic Grace Gate. Further southwest is the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Gate. A bas relief sculpture of Heyhoe Flint and a plaque on the wall commemorate the driving force behind women’s cricket.
English cricket writer Scyld Berry called Heyhoe Flint the W.G. Grace of women’s cricket. Such was her influence on the women’s game.
After an England debut in 1960, Heyhoe Flint captained England in a career spanning two decades. More importantly, she played a pivotal role in launching the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1973 and led England to victory. It became the sport’s oldest world championship as the men’s World Cup took root only two years later.
The women superstars
Fifty-one years later, as the UAE hosts the T20 World Cup from Thursday (October 3), women’s cricket has undergone a dramatic transformation. Heyhoe Flint would have been proud.
Women cricketers are now superstars. Meg Lanning (Australia), Ellyse Perry (Australia), Jhulan Goswami (India), Alyssa Healy (Australia), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Harmanpreet Kaur (India), Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Mithali Raj (India), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Marizanne Kapp (South Africa) … the list goes on. All of them have become household names.
Their rise to stardom owes to the popularity of the game. If franchise cricket is a measure of the sport’s success, women’s cricket has certainly arrived. Cricketers now boast of lucrative contracts as women cross their nation’s boundaries to ply their trade in leagues in England, Australia and India.
■ Matches are played almost every day, with two games on most days at 2pm and 6pm.
■ The final in Dubai is on October 20 at 6pm.
The fillip from franchise cricket
Women’s cricket is no longer the poor sibling of the men’s sport. The Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, the Hundred in England and the Women’s Premier League in India have made women professional cricketers. England will offer equal starting salaries for men’s and women’s cricketers starting next year, which could also rub off on other teams.
Not just that. The Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE will be the first world championship since the International Cricket Conference announced equal prize money for men’s and women’s tournaments. The winners in Dubai on October 20 will walk away with a purse of $2.34 million, which is 134% more than Australia’s winners’ cheque last year.
They deserve every cent of that. For the cricket on display will be top-drawer stuff. If you haven’t been following women’s cricket, please check out YouTube videos, and you will find electric fielding, acrobatic catching, express deliveries, spin sensations and soaring sixes in matches that go to the wire.
GROUPA: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
GROUP B: Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies and Scotland
■ In the group stage, each team play the other four teams in their group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.
■ The winners of semifinals will meet in the final on October 20.
The UAE challenge
Close contests, that’s the essence of T20 cricket. There will be plenty of that in Dubai and Sharjah. The tournament at its first neutral venue (it was relocated following the turmoil in Bangladesh, the original hosts) offers a new challenge. Most of the 10 teams in the fray haven’t played in the UAE, so the heat and humidity will test the players’ fitness. So also the pitches, which are unfamiliar to them, except for Scotland.
Twenty20 is an entertaining format. A challenging one too. Which is why there will be last-over and last-ball finishes. Who knows, this could be more thrilling than the last eight editions.
Australia have been dominant with six wins in the tournament that started in 2009. England and the West Indies are the other winners. Who can dislodge Australia from the pedestal? Difficult to say, but England may have the best chance. That wouldn’t be easy.
Whoever wins, women’s cricket will be the winner. That’s Heyhoe Flint’s legacy.
