Not many know that women’s cricket is as old as the men’s game.

Women have played cricket for centuries. The first recorded women’s match took place in 1745 in Surrey between “eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambledon”.

Presented by: Raghunath Nair

Date: 30/06/2023

Introduction

In the past Women’s cricket was played on an ad hoc basis and the gap between one match to the other was very wide

Women played in long skirts and blouses and the concept of overarm bowling came from the women’s sport as underarm bowling restricted movement due to the long skirt.

Played by the rich and the elite once was later a game played the ladies during the worldwar when the husbands were busy fighting the war

Over the time, due to the physical nature of the game, men’s cricket became popular and watched while the women’s cricket took the backseat. Till recently Women’s cricket couldnot garner the response the men’s sport received and while cricket evolved and grew, women’s cricket was in a standstill.

While till the 90’s, only Australia, England and NewZealand played the game regularly, other countries like South Africa, India, Srilanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh have also joined the game.

The game started getting popular in the subcontinent thanks to India’s regularity in the top 4 teams in World cups. This has helped all the subcontinent teams to be taken seriously.

For the women game to become popular, many factors are responsible like the media coverage which has improved drastically over the years and today most of the women’s international games are live telecasted be it Test Cricket, One day Internationals or the T20 Internationals. Like in the men’s game with the growing popularity, sponsors came into the women’s game. With technological improvements and gears made specifically for the women’s sport, the game has become safe and more aggressive.

Broadcasters have made the game popular for the women’s sport and nowadays games are scheduled in a manner that it does not coincide with the men’s game. This has now given the women’s sport more fan base and better viewership.

The success of the women’s national teams of several countries, including Australia, England, India, and New Zealand, has contributed to the growth of the sport.

Individual cricket boards have now started to heavily invest on the national women’s game as the game has gained more popularity.  Women’s team now have a separate women’s team management and support staff and runs the game independently. While they may still need to go a long way to become as popular as the men’s sport, the proof that women’s Internationals are seeing packed stadium is a step towards the right direction.

The popularity of the Women’s game is rising purely on its own merit as teams have started becoming more competitive and with the advent of franchise sport like the Big Bash, Hundred and now the recently concluded India’s World Premier League has helped super stars in the game handhold local talents by playing in the same team.

The franchise sport has helped the female cricketers to get more opportunities and play more competitive games than ever.

Triumphs in the game: Australian Cricket dominates the woman sport. They are currently the most successful team with seven Worldcup titles followed by the English Team winning Four ICC world cup Titles.

One of the major reasons for the rise for the rise of Women Cricket is the introduction of the shortest format of International Cricket – The T20 International. The format is short and quick paced. This format brings in the crowd to the stadium and viewership on the Television. When Women Cricket started playing this format, it was an absolute match. Boundaries were brought in making it high scoring games even in the women’s game. Many tournaments in cricket replaced One day Internationals with the T20 format which has helped increase the popularity of the game in both genders

The Physical aspect of the game also has played a significant part in the rise of women’s cricket. Girls have become more stronger, fitter and heavy work outs are now part of every cricketer’s practice routine. This has seen more boundaries and sixes hit in the women’s game. Pace bowling also has evolved from bowlers rolling their arm in the past to actually bowlers bending their back and produce pace swing and at times even bouncers.

The shorter format of the game has made cricket more accessible to a wider audience, including women and children.

The game’s popularity can be seen by the support the broadcasters give to the women’s game and the game is now supported in the commentary by former men and women greats of the game. This support has helped to increase the visibility of women’s cricket and attract new fans to the sport.

The popularity of the women’s cricket also has had a encouraging influence on gender equality. Indian women cricket and Indian men’s cricket have equal pay from the Indian board for the games played and hope other countries also will soon follow the BCCI Structure. With more investment, opportunities, and experience, female cricketers are now able to compete on a more level playing field with their male counterparts.

Challenges in women’s cricket 

While women cricket is as old as the men’s game, the game never took off for women’s cricket. Part of the reason has been the acceptability of the sport itself for women.  Apart from few countries, the game had to overcome extreme gender biasness over the years and cultural barriers restricted women from participating in sports.

The women game’s unpopularity in the past restricted parents to encourage their kids to play the game on a professional level

Many countries even today with their clear gender biasness discourage girls from entering the sport and some countries have a men’s team, but there may not be a women’s team or a one which is not fully supported by the local cricket board.

While these barriers will be cleared over time, there is hope that these obstacles will be overcome soon and make the women’s game as global as the men’s game.

Indian Women Cricket – The growth and Triumphs of Women’s Cricket

Cricket is considered a religion in India and is one of the most talked subject when friends meet.

While the men’s cricket is very popular in India, in the last decade there has been a change in the popularity level in the women’s sport.

While the Women’s cricket started in the early 1970’s, the game only got widespread media coverage.  Only recently after 15 years of India’s men franchise cricket “The IPL”,   the Women’s Premier League was introduced in 2023 and has taken the women’s sport to a new level of popularity.

The Indian team has had noteworthy victories, including their first Test victory, finishing second in the 2005 World Cup, and winning the inaugural T20I series against Australia

India’s Harmanpreet Kaur’s 171* is considered to be one the best innings in a world cup match in the history of the women’s game.

Conclusion

Since its initial beginning and after a lean patch with its popularity, women’s cricket is now becoming popular by each passing day. With franchise T20 tournaments in England, Australia and now with the hugely popular Women’s Premier League, women cricket’s popularity has sky rocketed.

There are still several obstacles in the women’s game, including lack of resources and gender salary disparity in few countries and may need course correction soon.

Better infrastructure and financial investment will guarantee success and growth for the game.

There is a significant rise in women cricket and the game is looking up for all cricket lovers. Countries like Thailand have a women’s team with no men’s team to talk about. This also allows women cricket to grow in countries where cricket is not played by men.

Women’s cricket has seen An increase in popularity, thanks to online broadcasting services and social media platforms.

SuperSports Team opinion

T20 format suits the women’s cricket the most and the women’s team should probably focus only in this one format and not try to copy all the formats the men play.

Increasing popularity of franchise league cricket is giving the sport the much-needed exposure globally and more and more players from associate nations are participating in the league which will only popularise and spread the game further.

Being a popular sport, acceptance of the women’s game has also increased.

Individual boards now see Women cricket as a money spinner and now are heavily investing on its infrastructure and on the promotion of the game.

Women’s cricket is getting popular and bigger year on year. With every passing year, the quality of cricket in the women’s game is increasing in batting, bowling and fielding. The game has seen significant increase in fan base and this fan base is not restricted to female fans alone.

Cricket has truly become a professional sport and players now take it as a career option. In the coming years, we will see an addition of at least 3 to 4 countries in the women’s game which will be great for the growth of the game.