Not many are aware that women cricketers staged their first World Cup two years before their male counterparts got round to holding their maiden global limited-overs competition. The women cricketers did it in England in 1973.
Now just six days after the International Cricket Council (ICC) finishes staging the Champions Trophy, women players of eight countries will hold centre stage at the county grounds of Bristol, Derby, Leicester and Taunton for the three-week preliminary phase of the Women’s Cricket World Cup. That’s before the three knockout fixtures which will culminate with the final on the hallowed turf of Lord’s on July 23.
The women may lack the brutal style of play usually associated with the men’s game but there will be no shortage of excitement once the event begins after the competing sides come through the warm-up phase, which runs from June 19 until June 22 at two of the World Cup venues — Leicester and Derby — as well as at the Queen’s Park in Chesterfield and the Lime Kilns Ground in Oakham.
Watch out for the women who will now take over England’s grounds for the ICC Women’s World Cup kicking off from June 24
With traditional powerhouses Australia — who are chasing their seventh trophy in the 11th edition — and hosts England set to dominate the round-robin stage of the competition alongside New Zealand — the only other nation apart from the Ashes rivals to win a World Cup — the likes of West Indies and India have the potential to create ripples here and there.
On the other hand, countries such as South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will only be there to make up the numbers after having come through a 10-team qualifying round — held in Sri Lanka last February and won by India who outgunned South Africa in the final — since their standard of play is well below par compared to the ‘Big Five’ of women’s cricket. However, their participation would definitely help them gain in terms of exposure and experience, if nothing else.
In the early years of the global competition, it was not staged the way it is now with the ICC taking responsibility of organising the World Cup on a quadrennial basis only from 2005 onwards.
Reigning champions Australia face a challenging task of retaining the title they bagged in 2013 when they beat the West Indies by a handsome margin of 114 runs under lights at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium. They are skippered by the world’s current top-ranked One-day International batter Meg Lanning, who took over the mantle of captaincy from Jodie Fields when the latter retired from cricket three years ago. Fields had led her nation to the 2012 World Twenty20 and 2013 World Cup titles.
Their squad features the uncapped pair of pace bowlers Belinda Vakarewa, 19, and the 32-year-old Sarah Aley as well as vastly experienced campaigners in all-rounder Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy. Healy, like her famous paternal uncle Ian Healy, is a wicket-keeper and is married to Australia’s men’s team bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc.
Australia, who have recently decided to drop their nomenclature of ‘Southern Stars’ in their fight for equality with their male counterparts, have also retained Megan Schutt — a right-arm pace bowler who was the leading wicket-taker in the previous edition with 15 victims — among eight players from the previous campaign.