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The Hundred 2021: Everything You Need To Know Quickly – Rules, Teams, Expected XIs, Fixtures, Predictions

by | Jul 21, 2021 | Previews and Reviews, The Hundred

The Hundred 2021 is finally upon us after a couple years delay.

Change is life’s only constant. You may love this new idea or might completely detest it. It may disrupt County Cricket as a whole and alienate cricket fans for the sake of ‘new modern audience.’ Increased visibility for women’s cricket will definitely be a big plus although cancellation of the Kia Super League was questionable. George Dobell dissects the Hundred to perfection.

Gone are the days of the calm claps and on to the days of DJ and party-mood in English cricket.

Whatever happens, it will be different. It could be another IPL and change cricket forever or it may be become the template of how not to administer cricket tournaments. No middle ground.

Let us give it a shot and try it out. Here is everything you need to know about the Hundred 2021.

Quick Summary

  • Matches: 34 (8 teams, 8 matches each, four home/away, 32 league matches, 1 Knockout (#2 vs #3), 1 Final)
  • Editions: Both Women’s & Men’s Tournament held simultaneously
  • Teams: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets, Welsh Fire
  • Dates: 21st July-21st August
  • Venues: Old Trafford (Manchester), Headingly (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Trent Bridge (Nottingham), Sophia Gardens (Cardiff), Lord’s (London), The Oval (London), Rose/Ageas Bowl (Hampshire)
  • Broadcasting: SKY Sports, BBC (Free to Air – some matches), YouTube (all women’s games, some men)

The Rules and Jargon

  1. Length: 100 balls per innings
  2. Toss: Will not be done in the middle of the pitch; it will be on the presentation ‘stage’ where the DJ will be
  3. No More ‘Overs’, balls will the unit of measurement
  4. 20 balls maximum per bowler
  5. A bowler can bowl either 5 or 10 balls consecutively (Change of ends will occur after the 10 balls)
  6. 25-ball Powerplay
  7. Over-Rate: 65 minutes per innings; penalties will most likely include risking fielders in the inner circle

The Hundred: Teams & Expected Playing XI

Unfortunately, due to the England-India Test series and bio-bubble rules, England’s test players will be involved only for 2 Hundred matches.

*Teams highlighted in their respective jersey colors

Birmingham Phoenix (Men)

  • England Internationals: Chris Woakes (C), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Dom Sibley
  • England Domestic: Tom Abell, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Pat Brown, Chris Cooke (WK), Miles Hammond, Tom Helm, Adam Hose, Benny Howell, Dillon Pennington, Will Smeed
  • Foreign Recruits: Finn Allen (New Zealand), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Adam Milne (New Zealand)

Coach: Daniel Vettori

Birmingham Phoenix Expected XI:

  1. Finn Allen, 2. Dom Sibley, 3. Moeen Ali, 4. Liam Livingstone, 5. Tom Abell, 6. Daniel Bell-Drummond, 7. Chris Cooke (WK), 8. Chris Woakes*, 9. Daniel Bell-Drummond, 10. Adam Milne, 10. Imran Tahir

Birmingham Phoenix (Women)

  • England Internationals: Amy Jones (WK), Georgia Elwiss, Kirstie Gordon
  • England Domestic: Emily Arlott, Thea Brookes, Gwenan Davies, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin, Evelyn Jones, Marie Kelly, Issy Wong
  • Foreign Recruits: Erin Burns, Katie Mack (Australia), Abtaha Maqsood (Scotland), Shafali Verma (India)

*Withdrawn: Ellyse Perry (Australia)

Coach: Ben Sawyer

Birmingham Phoenix Expected XI:

  1. Shafali Verma, 2. Katie Mack, 3. Georgia Elwiss, 4. Amy Jones (WK), 5. Erin Burns, 6. Thea Brookes, Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Kirstie Gordon, Abtaha Maqsood

London Spirit (Men)

  • England Internationals: Zak Crawley (C), Eoin Morgan, Mark Wood, Ravi Bopara, Mason Crane, Joe Denly, Jade Dernbach, Dan Lawrence
  • England Domestic: Blake Cullen, Josh Inglis (WK), Luis Reece, Adam Rossington (WK), Chris Wood
  • Foreign Recruits: Mohammad Amir (Pakistan), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Roelef van der Merwe (Netherlands)

Coach: Lisa Keightley

London Spirit Expected XI:

  1. Zak Crawley, 2. Joe Denly, 3. Dan Lawrence, 4. Eoin Morgan, 5. Ravi Bopara, 6. Mohammad Nabi, 7. Josh Inglis (WK), 8. Roelef van der Merwe, 8. Mark Wood, 9. Jade Dernbach, 10. Mohammad Amir, 11. Mason Crane

London Spirit (Women)

  • England Internationals: Heather Knight (C), Tammy Beaumont (WK), Freya Davies, Susie Rowe, Grace Scrivens
  • England Domestic: Amara Carr, Aylish Cranstone, Naomi Dattani, Charlotte Dean, Danielle Gibson, Alice Monaghan, Sophie Munro
  • Foreign Recruits: Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Deepti Sharma (India), Chloe Tyron (South Africa)

Coach: Shane Warne

London Spirit Expected XI:

  1. Tammy Beaumont, 2. Heather Knight, 3. Deandre Dottin, 4. Susie Rowe, 5. Deepti Sharma, 6. Chloe Tyron, 7. Naomi Dattani, 8. Charlie Dean, 9. Freya Davies, 10. Grace Scrivens, 11. Sophie Munro

Manchester Originals (Men)

  • England Internationals: Jos Buttler (C), Steven Finn, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt
  • England Domestic: Joe Clarke, Jamie Overton, Richard Gleeson, Sam Hain, Tom Hartley, Tom Lammonby
  • Foreign Recruits: Colin Ackermann, Fred Klaasen (Netherlands – domestic), Lockie Ferguson, Colin Munro (New Zealand), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies)

Coach: Simon Katich

Manchester Originals Expected XI:

  1. Jos Buttler (C/WK), 2. Colin Munro, 3. Phil Salt, 4. Joe Clarke, 5. Sam Hain, 6. Carlos Brathwaite, 7. Ollie Robinson, 8. Matt Parkinson, 9. Jamie Overton, 10. Lockie Ferguson, 11. Steven Finn

Manchester Originals (Women)

  • England Internationals: Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Alex Hartley
  • England Domestic: Georgie Boyce, Natalie Brown, Danielle Collins, Alice Dyson, Cordelia Griffith, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Eleanor Threlkeld (WK)
  • Foreign Recruits: Mignon du Preez (South Africa), Harmanpreet Kaur (India), Lizelle Lee (South Africa)

Coach: Paul Shaw

Manchester Originals Expected XI:

  1. Lizelle Lee, 2. Emma Lamb, 3. Georgia Boyce, 4. Harmanpreet Kaur, 5. Mignon du Preez, 6. Sophie Ecclestone, 7. Kate Cross (C), 8. Cordelia Griffith, 9. Ellie Threlkeld (WK), 10. Laura Jackson, 11. Alex Hartley

Oval Invincibles (Men)

  • England Internationals: Sam Curran (C), Tom Curran, Jason Roy, Sam Billings (WK), Rory Burns, Saqib Mahmood, Reece Topley
  • England Domestic: Alex Blake, Jordan Blake, Jordan Cox, Laurie Evans, Brandon Glover, Will Jacks, Nathan Sowter
  • Foreign Recruits: Colin Ingram (South Africa), Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal), Sunil Narine (West Indies)

Coach: Tom Moody

Oval Invincibles Expected XI:

  1. Colin Ingram, 2. Jason Roy, 3. Rory Burns, 4. Jordan Cox, 5. Sunil Narine, 6. Sam Billings, 8. Sam Curran (C), 9. Tom Curran, 10. Saqib Mahmood, 11. Reece Topley

Oval Invincibles (Women)

  • England Internationals: Sarah Bryce (WK), Tash Farrant, Mady Villiers, Fan Wilson
  • England Domestic: Georgia Adams, Megan Belt, Alice Capsey, Joanne Gardner, Grace Gibbs, Eva Gray, Danielle Gregory
  • Foreign Recruits: Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk (South Africa)

Coach: Lydia Greenway

Oval Invincibles Expected XI:

  1. Georgia Adams, 2. Alice Capsey, 3. Fran Wilson, 4. Dane van Niekerk (C), 5. Marizanne Kapp, 6. Sarah Bryce (WK), 7. Tash Farrant, 8. Mady Villiers, 9. Grace Gibbs, 10. Shabnim Ismail, 11. Dani Gregory

Northern Superchargers (Men)

  • England Internationals: Ben Stokes (C), Adil Rashid, David Wiley, Brydon Carse, Adam Lyth, John Simpson (WK)
  • England Domestic: Harry Brook, Matthew Fisher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Matty Potts, Ben Raine, Jordan Thompson
  • Foreign Recruits: Faf du Plessis (South Africa), Chris Lynn (Australia), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)

Coach: Darren Lehmann

Northern Superchargers Expected XI:

  1. Faf du Plessis, 2. Chris Lynn, 3. Ben Stokes (C), 4. Adam Lyth, 5. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 6. John Simpson (WK), 7. Brydon Carse, 8. David Wiley, 9. Adil Rashid, 10. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11. Matty Potts

Northern Superchargers (Women)

  • England Internationals: Lauren Winfield-Hill, Alice Davidson-Richards, Beth Langston, Linsey Smith
  • England Domestic: Hollie Armitage, Ami Campbell, Helen Fenby, Phoebe Graham, Katie Levick, Kalea Moore, Bess Heath (WK)
  • Foreign Recruits: Laura Kimmince (Australia), Sterre Kalis (Netherlands), Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)

Coach: Danielle Hazell

Northern Superchargers Expected XI:

  1. Lauren Winfield-Hill, 2. Laura Wolvaardt, 3. Jemimah Rodrigues, 4. Laura Kimmince, 5. Alice Davidson-Richards, 6. Beth Langston, 7. Bess Heath (WK), 8. Phoebe Graham, 9. Linsey Smith, 10. Katie Levick, 11. Helen Fanby

Southern Brave (Men)

  • England Internationals: Jofra Archer (C), James Vince, Danny Briggs, Liam Dawson, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Craig Overton
  • England Domestic: Alex Davies (WK), George Garton, Jake Lintott, Max Waller, Ross Whitely
  • Foreign Recruits Devon Conway (New Zealand), Quinton de Kock (WK), Delray Rawlins (Bermuda – domestic)

*Withdrawn: Andre Russell (West Indies)

Coach: Mahela Jayawardene

Southern Brave Expected XI:

  1. Devon Conway, 2. Quinton de Kock (C), 3. James Vince, 4. Alex Davies (WK), 5. , 6. George Garton, 7. Jofra Archer (C), 9. Liam Dawson, 10. Chris Jordan, 11. Tymal Mills

Southern Brave (Women)

  • England Internationals: Sophia Dunkley, Sonia Odedra, Anya Shrubsole, Danni Wyatt
  • England Domestic: Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Ella McCaughan, Fi Morris, Tara Norris, Carla Rudd (WK), Paige Scholfield, Charlotte Taylor
  • Foreign Recruits: Smriti Mandhana (India), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies), Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia)

Coach: Charlotte Edwards

Southern Brave Expected XI:

  1. Smriti Mandhana, 2. Danni Wyatt, 3. Stefanie Taylor, 4. Sophia Dunkley, 5. Maia Bouchier, 6. Paige Scholfield, 7. Carla Rudd (WK), 8. Amanda-Jade Wellington, 9. Anya Shrubsole, 10. Sonia Odedra, 11. Lauren Bell

Trent Rockets (Men)

  • England Internationals: Joe Root (C), Alex Hales, Lewis Gregory, Dawid Malan, Samit Patel, Luke Wright
  • England Domestic: Matthew Carter, Sam Cook, Ben Cox (WK), Tom Moores (WK), Steven Mullaney, Luke Wood
  • Foreign Recruits: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), D’Arcy Short (Australia), Timm van der Gugten (Netherlands – domestic), Wahab Riaz (Pakistan), Marchant de Lange (South Africa)

Coach: Andy Flower

I am looking forward to

Trent Rockets Expected XI:

  1. D’Arcy Short, 2. Alex Hales, 3. Joe Root, 4. Dawid Malan, 5. Luke Wright, 6. Samit Patel, 7. Ben Cox (WK), 8. Timm van der Gugten, 9. Rashid Khan, 10. Lewis Gregory, 11. Wahab Riaz

Trent Rockets (Women)

  • England Internationals: Katherine Brunt, Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Glenn, Nat Sciver
  • England Domestic: Ella Claridge, Abigail Freeborn, Teresa Graves, Nancy Harman, Lucy Higham, Alicia Presland, Emily Windsor
  • Foreign Recruits: Heather Graham, Sammy-Jo Johnson (Australia), Michaele Kirk (South Africa – domestic), Rachel Priest (WK – New Zealand)

Coach: Salliann Briggs

I am looking forward to

Trent Rockets Expected XI:

  1. Kathryn Bryce, 2. Heather Graham, 3. Nat Sciver (C), 4. Rachiel Priest (WK), 5. Emily Windsor, 6. Sammy Jo-Johnson, 8. Katherine Brunt, 9. Sarah Glenn, 10. Kathryn Bryce, 11. Lucy Higham

Welsh Fire (Men)

  • England Internationals: Ollie Pope (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Liam Plunkett, Jake Ball, Tom Banton, Ben Duckett
  • England Domestic: Josh Cobb, Ian Cockbain, Matt Critchley, Ryan Higgins, David Lloyd, David Payne
  • Foreign Recruits: Jacobus Leus du Plooy (South Africa – domestic), James Neesham (New Zealand), Glenn Phillips (WK), Qais Ahmad (Afghanistan)
  • Withdrawn: Kieron Pollard

Coach: Gary Kirsten

Welsh Fire Expected XI:

  1. Jonny Bairstow (WK), 2. Tom Banton, 3. Ben Duckett, 4. Ollie Pope (C), 5. Glenn Phillips, 6. James Neesham, 8. Qais Ahmed, 9. Liam Plunkett, 10. Jake Ball, 11. David Payne

Welsh Fire (Women)

  • England Internationals: Sarah Taylor (WK), Katie George, Bryony Smith
  • England Domestic: Sophie Luff, Bethan Ellis, Georgia Hennessy, Alice Macleod, Nat Wraith (WK), Alex Griffiths, Amy Gordon, Nicole Harvey, Lauren Flier
  • Foreign Recruits: Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Piepa Cleary, Georgia Redmayne (WK – Australia)

Coach: Mark O’Leary

Welsh Fire Expected XI:

  1. Georgia Redmayne, 2. Hayley Matthews, 3. Sophie Luff, 4. Bethan Ellis, 5. Sarah Taylor (WK), 6. Georgia Hennessy, 7. Piepa Cleary, 9. Alice Macleod, 10. Alex Griffiths, 11. Nicole Harvey

The Hundred 2021 Prediction League

Before you get started, you have to do a quick registration (takes 30 seconds).

  1. Register for predictions here https://brokencricketdreams.com/register/
  2. After logging in, navigate to the menu and find The Hundred Prediction Sheet. https://brokencricketdreams.com/pool/

At this point, you should see something like this (if you are on Desktop):

Fixtures & Schedule

You can find the Hundred 2021 fixtures (UTC time zone) here.

Key Match Ups To Watch Out For

  1. Women’s Cricket – This is the boost women’s cricket needs. Yes, the financial pay is not nearly equal to the men’s edition, but at least women’s cricket is made a priority. This could be the template for other leagues to follow (hint, hint, nudge, nudge the IPL) to have simultaneous men/women’s tournament and have foreign talent on show. With Free-to-air matches and all matches free on YouTube, I am hoping women’s cricket expands to the next level.
  2. Joe Root & Dawid Malan – Malan, the #1 ranked T20I batter has a question mark on his place in the XI, especially after youngsters like Liam Livingstone standing up. Joe Root, England’s catalyst in the 2016 T20 World Cup campaign, is back into contention. Both will represent the Trent Rockets. Is this a direct audition for the World Cup spot?
  3. Sarah Taylor & Liam Plunkett – World’s best keeper and England’s most important bowler in the 2019 Cricket World Cup. Retired and left behind, they are both back.
  4. English Team Depth – The quickly put together “second-string” England emerged on the top against Pakistan and currently India’s new look squad is bossing Sri Lanka around. Will talents like Tom Banton and Phil Salt shine and make England’s case even stronger?

The Hundred 2021 Predictions

Finally here are my predictions.

My prediction for the team to lift the #Hundred 2021 trophy for both men & women trophy with… London Spirits with the Top 3 of Trent Rockets & Southern Brave (men) and Northern Superchargers & Southern Brave (women)

  • Most Runs: Liam Livingstone (M), Tammy Beaumont (W)
  • Most Wickets: Rashid Khan (M), Sophie Ecclestone (W)
  • Player of the Tournament: Sam Curran (M), Shafali Verma (W)
  • Emerging Player: Phil Salt (M), Sophia Dunkley (W)
  • Surprise Package: London Spirit (M), London Spirit (M)
  • Broken Cricket Dream: Will County Cricket die? Will the ardent cricket fans leave for the sake of attracting new audience?

Here were my Predictions for The Hundred 2021. What did you think? What are YOUR predictions? Comment Below!

Copyright 7/21/2021 @NiteshMathur – Broken Cricket Dreams, bcd@brokencricketdreams.com

Image Courtesy: Facebook

#Controversy Alert: Who Cares About Women’s Cricket Anyway?

by | Jan 30, 2021 | Miscellaneous, Women's Cricket

Controversy of the Day: Nobody cares about women’s cricket.

Women’s Cricket— Can’t Live With It, Can Definitely Live Without It.
At least that is the attitude of cricket administration and media around the world.

Today news came in that the BCCI finally decided to organize women’s matches, simultaneously with the men’s Vijay Hazare Trophy & the Vinoo Mankad U-19 Trophy. After the 4 match Women’s T20 Challenge, there is something to look forward to for the Indian Women team.

Is it enough, though? How are all the other women international teams faring during this time? Why did we get here? Could more have been done over the last year?

So many questions…Don’t worry, I got you.

Post-COVID statistics between Women’s Vs Men’s cricket, looking ahead to 2021, facts about the women’s game we should all know as cricket fans, and the way forward for women’s cricket. 

*Note: Underlined & Bolded links are videos. Underlined without bold are links to other articles.

Also Read: What Can Ellyse Perry Not Do?, What If Indian Women Won the 2017 ICC Cricket World Cup?

Rise of Women’s Cricket

March 8th, 2020—the peak for Women’s Cricket at the World T20 World Cup Final between Australia & India.

86, 174 spectators.

Following the monumental 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup, women’s cricket began moving in a positive direction. Casual cricket fans began to take notice, fan following increased for the likes of Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning, & Smriti Mandhana, and representation in broadcasting expanded with Lisa Sthalekar, Isa Guha, & Ebony Rainford-Brent among others. Investment rose with the Women Big Bash League (WBBL), Kia Super League, & even the Women’s T20 Challenge. The highly anticipated experiment, The Hundred, was scheduled simultaneously with the men’s version for last summer.

The rise continued & on the auspicious International Women’s Day, the record number of spectators at the Women’s 2020 T20 World Cup confirmed Mithali Raj’s statement, “Truly I believe women’s cricket has come in the mainstream now.”

Momentum Halts For Women’s Cricket

March 8th, 2020—also the last time since India Women took field.

None. Zero. Nada.

It has been almost 11 months without any international cricket, domestic competition, or even a national training camp. Meanwhile, Indian men have played a 60-match IPL, & toured Australia from November-January for a 3-T20I, 3 ODI, and 4 classic Test matches. India women’s 3 match ODI tour of Australia scheduled in January? Cancelled due to coronavirus at the end of December. Explain that…

The momentum has truly been halted. Not only India, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh women have not had much cricket either (although training camp has started for Bangladesh). Even the inaugural edition of the Hundred was postponed.

The second edition of men’s Indian Premier League post-COVID is about to begin in a couple of months and a 10-team IPL is rumored in 2022. On the other hand, after the gigantic leap from 1 match in 2018 to 4 matches in 2019, the Women T20 Challenge did not expand in 2020. And guess what? Those who participated in the Challenge were robbed of the opportunity to play WBBL due to bio-bubble regulations.

The biggest casualty, though was the earlier scheduled 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup.

Starting next week, from February 6th-March 7th, New Zealand was supposed to host World Cup. YES, New Zealand, the country best placed to host an international event in these circumstances. Yet, in August the ICC postponed it due to ‘disparity in level of preparedness’ between the different countries.

Men’s Vs Women’s Cricket: Post-Covid Statistics

Thanks to the ECB and their bio-secured bubble protocols, cricket started back with the England-West Indies Test Series. Since then, both men’s & women’s cricket restarted, but here is a table that shows the disparity of the amount of games played.

Since July, the men have had a maximum possible 128 days of international cricket scheduled (5 days maximum per test) as opposed to just 16 days for the women (5 of which were Austria Vs Germany T20I). Across formats & countries, men have clocked in 540 matches, while women have played a mere 144 matches.

Men’s CricketWomen’s Cricket
International Matches Played (June 2020-January 2021)56 matches
(18 Tests, 17 ODIs, 21 T20Is)
*excludes 16 matches 		16 matches
(0 Tests, 3 ODIs, 13 T20Is)
*including Austria-Germany 5 T20Is
T10 & T20 Leagues Played Around the World 206 matches
(CPL, IPL, SLPL, BBL, T10 League)		63 matches
(Women’s T20 Challenge, BBL)
Domestic Cricket 278 matches
(Syed Mustaq Ali, Vitality Blast, Super Smash NZ, Bob Willis Trophy)		65 matches
(Ireland Super50, Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Super Smash NZ)
International Scheduled Matches For 2021 (So Far)96 matches
(24 T20Is, 12 ODIs, 15 Tests including WTC Final + 45 match 2021 T20 World Cup)		18 matches
(9 ODIs, 9 T20Is)
Total Matches (Mar 2020-2021)
*excluding T20/Domestic Leagues for 2021		636 matches162 matches
Post-Covid Men’s & Women’s Cricket Summary

*Table does not include the 3 Eng-SA & the 2 Ire-UAE ODIs that were cancelled due to COVID.

Series Summary

Here are the details of the various series, leagues, & domestic tournaments played over the last year.

*Australia (Aus), New Zealand (NZ), India (Ind), England (Eng), Sri Lanka (SL), South Africa (SA), Pakistan (Pak), West Indies (WI), Bangladesh (Ban), Zimbabwe (Zim), Ireland (Ire), & Afghanistan (Afg).

International Matches Played (June 2020-January 2021)

Men’s
  • WI tour Eng (3 Tests), Pak tour Eng (3 Tests, 3 T20I), Ire tour Eng (3 ODIs), Aus tour Eng (3 T20Is, 3 ODIs)
  • Zim tour Pak (3 ODI, 3 T20I), Ire tour UAE (4 ODIs – 2 cancelled), Ire Vs Afg (3 ODI)
  • Eng tour SA (3 T20I, ODIs abandoned), SL tour SA (2 Tests), Eng tour SL (2 Tests)
  • WI tour NZ (3 T20I, 2 Tests), Pak tour NZ (3 T20I, 2 Tests)
  • Ind tour Aus (3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, 4 Tests)

*Excludes 16 games played by Guersney, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Belgium, Bulgaria, Malta, Romania

Women’s
  • Austria tour Germany (5 T20I)
  • WI tour England (5 T20I)
  • NZ tour Aus (3 ODI, 3 T20I)

T10 & T20 Leagues Played Around the World

  • Men: Caribbean Premier League (33 matches), Indian Premier League (60), Sri Lanka Premier League (23), Big Bash League (61), T10 League (29)
  • Women: WBBL (59 matches), IPL Exhibition games (4)

Domestic Cricket

  • Men: Bob Willis Trophy (Eng – 46 matches), 2020 T20 Vitality Blast (Eng – 97), 32 Super Smash (NZ – 32), Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy (India – 103)
  • Women: Super50 Cricket Series (Ire – 8 matches), Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy (Eng – 25)

Schedule Lookout for 2021

Well if you thought 2020 was bad, 2021’s schedule does not seem like a drastic improvement either. Sure, just like the Vijay Hazare & Vinoo Mankad, more matches may be scheduled later, but the number of planned games in 2021 tells you the story.

Women’s Cricket 2021 Schedule

According to the ICC Fixtures for the next year, Women’s cricket looks as follows:

  1. Pak tour SA (3 ODI, 3 T20I): Jan 20-Feb 3 (Ongoing)
  2. Eng tour NZ (3 ODI, 3 T20I): Feb 23-Mar 5
  3. Aus tour NZ (3 ODI, 3 T20I): Mar 27-Apr 10

After this, the next scheduled international fixture is the postponed 2022 Women’s World Cup that begins on March 4th, 2022. Domestically, apart from women’s edition of Vijay Hazare & Vinoo Mankad U-19, Australia National Cricket League (28 matches) has been announced, with The Hundred, Women Big Bash League, & Women’s T20 Challenge possibly returning for 2021.

Men’s Cricket Schedule 2021

While international women’s cricket as a whole has only been scheduled 18 limited overs matches in 2021, the Men’s England Test team alone are slotted 17 Test Matches (18 if they reach the WTC final), apart from the T20 World Cup & other bilateral series.

Currently, WI tour of Ban (3 ODI, 2 Tests) & SA tour of Pak (2 Tests, 3 T20Is) are ongoing, with the England tour of India (4 Tests, 5 T20I, 3 ODI), IPL 2021 (60 matches), & The Hundred on the horizon.

  • 51 matches planned in 2021 (24 T20Is, 12 ODIs, 15 Tests including WTC Final)
  • 45 match ICC Men’s T20I World Cup October-November (in India)

Did You Know?

Who was the first cricketer to score a double century in ODI? Umm..Sachin Tendulkar 200* Vs South Africa in 2010, right? Wrong. It was actually Belinda Clark’s 229* in the 1997 Women’s Cricket World Cup.

The real question is, do we ourselves pay enough attention to Women’s Cricket or just hypocritically vouch for the women’s game?

We all know about Tendulkar’s 100 100s, Bradman’s 99.94, Muralitharan’s 800, Sharma’s 264. For our collective cultural enhancement, here is a short list of statistics and facts we should all know about Women’s Cricket.

Numbers & Facts in Women’s Cricket We Should All Know

*Note, this stats are divided by format: Test | ODI | T20I .

Batting

  • Most Runs: 1935 – Jan Brittin (Eng) | 6,888 – Mithali Raj (Ind) | 3301 – Suzie Bates (NZ)
  • Highest Score: 242 – Kiran Baluch (Pak) | 232* – Amelia Kerr (NZ) | 148* – Alyssa Healy (Aus)
  • Most 100s/50+: 5 (100s)/16 (50+) – Jan Brittin (Eng), 14 (100s) – Meg Lanning (Aus)/ 60 (50+) – Mithali Raj (Ind) | 22 (50+) Suzie Bates (NZ) (several players with 2 T20I centuries)
  • Highest Partnership: 309 – Lindsay Reeler & Denise Annets (Aus) | 320 – Deepti Sharma & Poonam Raut (Ind) | 257 Yulia Anggraeni & Kadek Winda Prastini (Indonesia)

Bowling

  • Most Wickets: 77 – Mary Duggan (Eng) | 225 – Jhulan Goswami (Ind) | 120 – Anisa Mohammed (WI)
  • Best Figures Innings: 8/53 – Neetu David (Ind) | 7/4 – Sajjida Shah (Pak) | 6/0 – Anjali Chand (Nepal)
  • Most 5-fers: 5 – Shubhangi Kulkarni (Ind) | 6 -Anisa Mohammed (WI) | 7 (4-fers+) – Anisa Mohammed (WI)
  • Best Figures Match/ Most 10-fers (Tests): 13/226 – Shaiza Khan (Pak) / 2 10-fers – Betty Wilson (Aus)

Wicket-Keeping/Fielding

  • Most Catches (Fielding): 25 – Carole Hodges (Eng) | 67 – Suzie Bates (NZ) | 64 – Suzie Bates (NZ)
  • Most Dismissals (Keeper): 58 – Christina Matthews (Aus) | 160 – Trisha Chetty (SA) | 93 – Alyssa Healy (Aus)

Teams

  • Highest Team Total: 569/6 declared Aus (vs Eng) | 491/5 NZ (Vs Ire) | 314/2 Uganda (Vs Mali)
  • World Cups: ODIs – Aus (6 times), Eng (4), NZ (1) | T20Is – Aus (5 times), Eng (1), WI (1)

A Way Forward

Australia, England, & New Zealand are historically the most successful women cricket teams and rightly so. They have invested in women’s cricket for decades & are broadening the recruitment of young girls in cricket. Other countries lag behind in the recruitment, infrastructure, & investment.

In the COVID era, the template provided by NZ’s Super Smash, India’s Vijay Hazare, & England’s Hundred should become common. The corresponding matches for the same teams should be played on the same day for both the men & women respectively. This may help out with spectators & TV revenues as well.

This is definitely possible for domestic competitions & T20 leagues, but should even be considered for international tours as well, at least for the limited overs leg.

These are just some limited thoughts, but there are limitless ideas to promote women’s cricket if enough focus is given to this part of the sport.

Supply & Demand

More needs to be done for Women’s Cricket in current times. If this break continues longer, experienced players will start to retire, budding youngsters might not receive opportunity (and hence, may leave the sport altogether), and the compounding loss of revenue will hurt women’s cricket for generations to come.

If the ICC and national boards do not ramp up support in 2021, as Anjum Chopra called it, Women’s Cricket will remain just as an ‘add on’ feature, and nothing more. Who knows, instead of waiting for their next opportunity, the likes of Mithali Raj & Jhulan Goswami should just retire now, join administration, take matters in their own hands, fix women’s cricket administration, un-retire and play.

Women Cricket’s current status can be summarized with the saying, “If you are not at table, you are on the menu.”

Hope Remains

Although the coronavirus break as halted the momentum, hope remains. With the T20 international status open to several countries now, smaller nations like Thailand & Nepal have taken large strides. With role models like Ellyse Perry & Sophie Devine (see below), more girls have taken up the sport seriously.

Finally, us fans can themselves can help in the resurgence of momentum. The entire game is about supply & demand. Men’s cricket & the IPL generates a lot of revenue. Hence, T20 cricket remains essential at possibly the expense of Test cricket. Similarly, women’s cricket is less profitable and hence, gets less support. So, we should demand more women’s cricket and encourage girls to take the sport up.

Fans need to get involved. Bloggers (including me) should write more on women’s cricket. You should tweet more on women’s cricket. Watch lots of videos, look up more stats, & make women’s cricket viral. Get the media involved. Slowly & steadily, women’s cricket administration will take notice & invest more.

Anyway, I will leave you all with a classy Sophie Devine, who recently scored the fastest T20 century in women’s cricket (36 balls), but her sportsmanship & humanity was the highlight.

So there you go. Lots of controversy, with a tinge of hope.

Copyright (2021: 1/30/2021)– @Nitesh Mathur, aka Nit-X – bcd@brokokencricketdreams.com

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Image Courtesy: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons, Getty Images

Sources: ICC Results (Women) ICC Results (Men), ICC Fixtures 2021 (Women), ICC Fixtures 2021 (Men)