Women's World Cup

First topic message reminder :

This gets under way tomorrow, and I reckon deserves a thread of its own. It will be fully televised, which is great.

England have had a couple of good wins in the warm-ups, including thrashing NZ. They have however lost opening batswoman Laura Winfield for at least the first game, with a wrist injury. TBH it doesn't sound too good (protective case while assessing the damage) so she may well be gone for the tournament. If so, that's a big blow, as her opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont has been the strong basis on which England have built their more aggressive approach since a disappointing showing at the T20 a couple of years ago. They do though welcome back Sarah Taylor, who took time out from the game after that tournament, and has scored some runs in the warm-ups.

Not too sure what sort of form the other teams are in. I see Pakistan beat WI in a warm-up which is a bit of a surprise, and Elyse Perry reckons the Aussies haven't quite been hitting their straps, though that was before their latest warm-up where they secured a thumping win.

dummy_half wrote:A few thoughts overall -

Women's cricket is an OK product, and the quality is definitely improving. It would benefit from a few bowlers trying to bowl genuinely fast (which I guess would be in the low to mid 80s mph) - quick enough that the short ball would present some risk.

Well played England in coming out on top of 3 classic one day contests (Aus in the group, SA sf and Ind final). Knowing how to win is a very good habit.

The tournament was a bit too long, and SL and Pakistan aren't yet up to a standard to compete with the top sides. The problem is that you have to give them the chance to compete to develop.

The wicket for the final was poor in terms of providing a spectacle - the lack of pace and bounce encouraged slower deliveries and reduced stroke play opportunities. While the match was a good contest, it was not necessarily a great showcase for what women's cricket now is.

Broadly agree there. NZ's Lea Tahuhu is genuinely quick, but most of the other non-spin bowlers are relying on swing/seam. Though it's not necessarily a bad thing seeing a lot of spinners in action

Kiwi

Didn't see anything of NZ (as I recall), but it would certainly be a different challenge for the batswomen having someone who can force them onto the back foot. I seem to recall Sarah Taylor saying that this was the big difference when playing in high level men's cricket (she's played grade cricket in AUs and iirc for Sussex second XI) - that there is a test of courage as well as a test of skill and technique.

As for the fielding, I think that's coming on pretty well, adopting the techniques of the men's game. Worth noting that we are only 3 years into professionalism in the women's game in England, so there's still plenty of room for improvement but it isn't bad already.

dummy_half wrote: Worth noting that we are only 3 years into professionalism in the women's game in England, so there's still plenty of room for improvement but it isn't bad already.

That puts it a step up on the mens then!

Gooseberry wrote:

dummy_half wrote: Worth noting that we are only 3 years into professionalism in the women's game in England, so there's still plenty of room for improvement but it isn't bad already.

That puts it a step up on the mens then!

Just a little harsh...