For a long time, women’s cricket was mostly outshined by men’s cricket. However, recent signs indicate that things are no more the same. We can witness the rapid developments taking place in women’s cricket. Women are increasingly encouraged to participate in the game and bring reputation and fame to the family. The rising popularity of the Big Bash League also highlights significant scale developments in women’s cricket. Moreover, Australia has emerged as the world leader in women’s cricket, both on and off the field.
Given below are the major transformations that took place in women’s cricket over the years.
· Fast rise in popularity:
Earlier, India hosted both men’s and women’s world championship in Twenty20 cricket. However, the international cricket council reportedly had a biased attitude towards women cricketers. It paid for all the men’s team to fly business class while women cricketers ended up flying in economy class. But things are changing now. Women cricketers are being treated the same as men cricketers. The growing popularity of cricket is not restricted to Australia. Major developments are taking place in women’s cricket all across the globe.
· Betting on Women’s Cricket:
It seems an odd observation, but the Increasing popularity of women’s cricket is reflected in the fact you can bet on women’s cricket. The sports betting market is highly sensitive to industry changes. It is possible to bet on both international women’s cricket and also domestic matches. Cricket Betting reflects the growing popularity of the sport.
· Television ratings receive significant boost:
Things are getting brighter with each passing day for women’s cricket. Earlier, when England hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2017, ICC paid for all teams to travel business class. Television ratings during the Women’s World Cup also rose to a new level. People are taking interest in watching women cricket both in stadiums and on television.
· Women cricketers entitled to same daily expenses as men:
In yet another major decision, women cricketers from all playing nations were allowed to similar daily expenses as men. It reflects the growing seriousness that the world cricket body and specific countries’ cricket bodies have begun to give to women’s cricket.
· Major developments start taking place:
Large scale developments can be seen in women’s cricket in the last couple of years only. Ticket sales for the 2017 women’s world cup that took place in England broke the record of earlier tournaments. The 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup was played between India and England, in which England became the winner and India lost the match by just nine runs.
· Indian women cricketers’ big achievements:
India’s Mithali Raj figures at number eight in the list of top 10 women cricketers in the world (ODI Batting). While Jhulan Goswami also figures at number five in this list (ODI Bowling). Deepti Sharma figures at number three in the ODI All-Rounder list. It indicates how fast Indian women cricketers are creating new records. Meanwhile, Lisa Carprini Sthalekar is a notable Australian woman cricketer who also hails from India.
· Women cricketers begin getting roles meant for men:
Earlier Cricket New Zealand had selected a female president. This was the first time a country had selected a woman for this role. Recently, Catherine Dalton, an Irish cricketer, became the first woman recruited to become the bowling coach of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (India). She has become the first female to have received such an honour.
· ICC emphasizes the role of women’s cricket:
ICC also released a crucial statement highlighting that women’s cricket can boost the growth of the sport in emerging cricket nations. According to ICC, over 180 million people all across the globe watched women’s world cup. This is one of the significant phases for women’s cricket, and the next Women’s World T20 will be played in Australia. Preparations are underway for the final match for a stadium that can accommodate 100,000 spectators.
· Limitations are few:
Some limitations can also be seen in women’s cricket. The Indian Premier League, which has emerged as the richest domestic T20 league, does not have a women’s equivalent league. However, India’s governing cricket body has shown hopes that it would create one in the coming years.
Women cricketers remain underrepresented at the uppermost levels all across the globe. According to a latest report, women secure a mere 20 per cent of directorships on national and state association boards in Australia.
However, limitations cannot become a metaphor for women’s cricket. Women cricketers may face some obstacles along the way. But one cannot ignore the huge sunshine that women’s cricket has been enjoying in the last couple of months. Women’s cricket has come a long way and more developments are in the offing.
