Isn't cricket a Gentlewoman's game too?

It was NatSciver Brunt of course With those tender but fearsome eyes watching and with a swish of the bat the ball disappeared over midoff for a boundary and came her second hundred in three days 129 runs from 149 balls as England was put into bat and finished on 2859 to set Australia a challenging targetSciverBrunt scored a fourth century from five ODIs against Australia and the seventh of her England career in this format Her resistance finally ended in the 48th over as Jess Jonassen tempted an airborne pull into the safe hands of Ashleigh GardnerAustralia and England engineered a grandstand finish to the ODI series as England ran out comfortable winners to the delight of a capacity crowd while a batting collapse left the visitors scrambling to survive after being bowled out for 199 in 353 oversAs a result victory saw the multiseries format drawn 88 on points the same score as when England last avoided Ashes defeat in Australia five years ago and meant England had won both the ODI and Twenty20 series 21Under holder Australia had already retained the Ashes by winning the second ODI in Southampton on Sunday England trailed 60 after the opening two matches of the multiformat series the solitary test and the T20 opener but rallied to win four of the remaining five whiteball contestsTo win two series against the world champions in both formats is brilliantrdquo said England captain Heather Knight who scored 67 ldquoThe Ashes had gone the other day and the disappointment came out then But the character in the side to turn it around here was unbelievableEach match of the series has had twists and turns to offer with different starring roles ndash Tammy Beaumont hitting 208 in the Test at Trent Bridge while Sophie Ecclestone scalped a 10wicket haulAlso Read Mauled and humiliated The rise of West Indies declinism in cricketSince the format switched to whiteball cricket Sophia Dunkley Danni Wyatt Alice Capsey and Knight have all had key contributions and in doing so further cemented their place as role models for the next generation It certainly does not sound too farfetched to be true but the impact of this summerrsquos battle will be significant regardless of what unfolded in the final two ODIsWe didnt get over the line in the whiteball stuff but Im proud of the way the series has unfolded Its been an amazing spectacle for cricket in general and really cool to be part of it Australia captain Alyssa Healy said Its no secret we havent played our best throughout the entire series Well sit back now and see whats not quite gone well for us In the long run it might do us good to have those reflections and know that we can be betterrdquoAlmost more importantly this tournament has been a great evangelical exercise for England and womens cricket in general In a historic first the venues selected truly reflected the prestige of the tournament A whole new audience who might not have thought of going to watch womens cricket for its own sake were exposed to it And impressed by itI hope that for the fiveyearold girl next door and her friends women playing sports to a high level is normal and that watching it in mixed company is normal too This tournament has taken a huge step to ensuring that is the realityNot many global sporting contests predate the countries that play them but few contests are as old as the Ashes ask any cricket loyalist To have the greatest players contesting a game that remained fairly balanced between bat and ball before adoring crowds has been the most wonderful of all things And without a game washed out tooIt is a good thing that the Ashes follow as any other series might risk being an anticlimax Even if it is between two of the alsorans of this tournamentThe ODIs this time were still played at county grounds but the Test and T20 matches showcased some of Englandrsquos most premier locations with Lordrsquos The Oval Trent Bridge and Edgbaston all opened up to host the stimulating nervewracking contests Having big grounds to play signals to fans that a match is crucial that attending it is desirable even historymaking As much as it is an indication towards the right direction it also elevates the contest and makes it something people want to witnessWhen over 30000 fans packed the stands at The Oval for the T20 it was the first time a womenrsquos international match had been played at the venue since 2009 And while the record crowd cheered England to a threerun triumph it left the Australians facing their first outright defeat since September 2021ldquoI remember being part of the 2005 Ashes and we were spurring each other on People didnrsquot really know we were playing back then so that is probably the difference to now but there is something in the air It feels a really seminal moment for our sportrdquo former cricketer and now commentator Isa Guha told the PA news agencyAlso Read Humidity lingers traffic worsens but cricket wins the race A diary of an Indian on tourSlowly but surely the times are changingFew would deny fan interest in the mens game is the main driver of womenrsquos cricket revenue but until recently the lack of investment in women meant inequity was a selffulfilling prophecy Nothing accrues nothing If women had few chances to prove themselves developing any form of parity would be limitedldquoI think womenrsquos cricket is only going in one way It is the fastest growing area of our sport and to see that investment paying off that makes us all feel good about the bigger picture of womenrsquos cricket at the top level There is still a lot more to be done at grassroots level and in the pathways but certainly the inspiration that is coming out of this whole series is incrediblerdquo added IsaThe ICC has also changed its mindset as they seek to grow the gameAs groundbreaking as the Ashes series was it is not the only area where womenrsquos cricket is making huge strides Last week in a groundbreaking move towards gender parity and inclusivity in cricket Jay Shah Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI expressed his enthusiasm on Twitter announcing a major step forwardThis announcement came after the International Cricket Council ICC declared equal prize money for mens and womens teams at ICC events surpassing the predetermined timeline for achieving prize money parity As a consequence teams will receive equal prize money for finishing in similar positions at comparable events as well as the same amount for winning matchesIn the same week Cricket Australia revealed the draw for the Womenrsquos Big Bash League WBBL will include standalone matches at the MCG and SCG for the first time There is potential for even more growth in viewing figures at the ICC Womenrsquos T20 World Cup 2024 in BangladeshCome next year it will be another chance for womenrsquos cricket to stand alone and shine on the world stage and serve as a reminder of where the game has come from and all that is still waiting to be achieved