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After three straight defeats, New Zealand Women finally claimed their first win, coasting home by six wickets in a low-scoring game in Sydney’s Stadium Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2012
ScorecardSuzie Bates led New Zealand’s chase with an unbeaten 40•Getty Images

After three straight defeats, New Zealand Women finally claimed their first win, coasting home by six wickets in a low-scoring curtain-raiser to the men’s Twenty20 international (between Australia and India) in Sydney’s Stadium Australia.In front of a sparse crowd, expected to fill up for the bigger draw in the evening, Australia Women were restricted to 7 for 92 in a match reduced to 18 overs due to rain before the start of play. Kate Broadmore, the right-arm seamer, took 3 for 9 in four tight overs to restrict the Australians. The hosts were limping at 5 for 30 before Jodie Fields and Lisa Sthalekar added 43 for the sixth wicket. Fields remained unbeaten on 37, hitting two fours and a six. She tried to get innovative towards the end of the innings, fetching her only six by moving across to wide of the off stump and scooping Amy Satterthwaite over the fine leg boundary. Sthalekar made 23.Suzie Bates led New Zealand’s chase with an unbeaten 40. The teams will play the fifth and final game in Melbourne in two days.

West Indies women’s cricketer Tremayne Smartt has been suspended by the ICC from all cricket and cricket-related activities for five months after being found guilty of committing an anti-doping violation

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2011West Indies women’s cricketer Tremayne Smartt has been suspended by the ICC from all cricket and cricket-related activities for five months after being found guilty of violating an anti-doping rule. An independent anti-doping tribunal comprising Tim Kerr QC (acting as chairman), Dr Anik Sax and Prof. Peter Sever took the decision at a hearing in London on Friday based on written and oral legal submissions as well as testimony from Smartt, who plead guilty.Smartt has played 15 ODIs and 12 Twenty20 internationals for West Indies.A random urine sample collected in September this year, which was tested at a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), was found to contain a prohibited substance called Furosemide. The tribunal accepted that the substance wasn’t used to enhance performance or mask the use of another performance-enhancing drug, “but that she had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon her as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules.””Smartt, 26, provided a urine sample as part of the ICC’s random in-competition testing programme after the conclusion of a Twenty20 International between West Indies and Pakistan, held in Georgetown, Guyana on September 11,” an ICC release said. Her sample was found to contain Furosemide, classified as a ‘Specified Substance’ under WADA’s Prohibited List.Smartt, according to the release, had taken the substance to treat a swelling in her knee. She was found guilty of violating Article 2.1 of the ICC’s Anti-Doping code and stands suspended until March 25 next year. She has three weeks to appeal against the decision should she wish to.In a statement, Smartt conceded she did not effectively check the Prohibited List and would have to accept the consequences.

The security assessment became necessary because of the political turmoil in Bangladesh in July-August

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2024South Africa’s two-Test series in Bangladesh will be played on schedule, with CSA okaying the tour following a security assessment by its experts. The first Test will be played from October 21-25 in Dhaka, and the second in Chattogram from October 29 to November 2.A CSA statement on Monday said that it had given the tour the go-ahead after “an in-loco inspection” on the part of the board’s operations manager, team security manager, safety and security consultant, and a representative of the South African Cricketers’ Association, who submitted their recommendations to the board after visiting Bangladesh last week.South Africa will reach Dhaka on October 16. The squad for the series is expected later on Monday.

Bangladesh vs South Africa

Oct 21-25: 1st Test, Dhaka
Oct 29 to Nov 2: 2nd Test, Chattogram

South Africa’s concerns about the security situation in Bangladesh were because of the anti-government protests in the country in July-August, which led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, and, later, the women’s T20 World Cup moving out of the country to the UAE.CSA sources had told ESPNcricinfo earlier this month that they had been told the situation in Bangladesh had “settled”, but the tour wouldn’t go on if any risks were identified in the security assessments.South Africa only have six Test matches left in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. They have already played six games, having won two, lost three, and drawn one. They are currently sixth on the points table, and need to win at least five of their remaining games to have a chance of qualifying for next year’s final at Lord’s. All six of their series in this cycle have been limited to two Tests, as CSA prioritised the launch of the SA20, their domestic T20 franchise competition, and cost-cutting.The last time South Africa and Bangladesh had faced each other in a Test series was in South Africa in March-April 2022. South Africa’s white-ball squads are currently in the UAE to take on Ireland.

Wolvaardt is expected to be unveiled ahead of South Africa’s assignment against Bangladesh at home next month

Firdose Moonda11-Nov-2023Laura Wolvaardt is set to be confirmed as South Africa’s permanent captain after taking on the job in a temporary capacity for the series against Pakistan and New Zealand earlier this year.At the time of accepting the job on an interim basis, Wolvaardt had said she wanted to assess whether the leadership would impact her batting, but ESPNcricinfo understands that after topping the run-chart in the T20 series against Pakistan and finishing second on the list for in the ODIs against New Zealand, she has decided she wants the job full-time.Wolvaardt is expected to be unveiled in the role ahead of South Africa’s next assignment, against Bangladesh at home in December. That series will also be the final one for the current coaching staff, led by Hilton Moreeng, who has been in charge of the side since 2012 and oversaw their progression to the T20 World Cup final earlier in this year. Moreeng’s contract ended at the conclusion of that tournament but CSA dragged its heels in advertising for the post and, in August, his tenure was extended to the end of 2023 despite player grievances.Moreeng’s post has since been advertised and interviewed for and a new coach is set to be announced before South Africa tour Australia earlier next year.”We had interviews last week and we are still finalising a couple of things. As soon as we are done with the post-interview process, we will be able to make an announcement,” Enoch Nkwe, CSA’s director of cricket, said in Ahmedabad, where he is attending the men’s ODI World Cup. “The current coaching team will carry on until the end of December, but we want to give clarity as soon as possible because it will impact the Australian tour.”CSA is also set to put in place a head of women’s cricket, who will report to Nkwe. Applications for that post closed on July 14 but Nkwe indicated that the appointee is yet to be decided on.”The head of women’s cricket [role] has taken a while [to finalise]. We want to make sure the person that is going to take that position is not short-term,” Nkwe said. “We’ve just professionalised the domestic structure and there are plans within the high performance to get a South Africa A women’s side over the next 12 months, so we have the same structure as the men’s. The women’s structure is really growing nicely and we are really excited about it.”As part of the legacy of hosting the T20 World Cup, South Africa have taken significant steps to professionalise the women’s game. Their top-six domestic teams can now contract up to 11 players each and the national women’s players now get equal match fees as the men.

Sibley unbeaten on 142 before Lancashire duo stage unbroken opening partnership of 127

Paul Edwards06-May-2022
In Season 1, Episode 20 of Leo McGarry, the White House chief of staff, is determined to expose the hypocrisy of Congressmen regarding drug-enforcement. “We play the full nine innings at this level, Stuart,” he informs a senator’s PA, “Tell your friends.” If we overlook, for the moment, the dreadful faux pas of placing a baseball reference in a report on a cricket match, a comparable resolve has informed Lancashire’s cricket in the first month of this season.The games against Kent and Gloucestershire were only won deep in their final sessions but Lancashire’s players stuck to their task until the job was done, and Dane Vilas’s team has already shown similar tenacity against Warwickshire. Near the end of the first day the visitors were well placed on 240 for 4, only for a dog-tired seam attack to take three wickets with the new ball before the close. This morning Lancashire’s bowlers may have admired the application of Dom Sibley, who finished unbeaten on 142, but they dismissed the visitors for 315 and then took their ease as Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings celebrated their maiden opening partnership by putting on an unbroken 127 in the increasing gloom with Wells stroking the ball around particularly felicitously for his 70 not out.And perhaps some bad light was perversely appropriate. As these words are being written, a large number of Lancashire cricketers and some old players are gathering in the pavilion for a dinner to mark the 50th anniversary of the county’s famous Gillette Cup semi-final victory over Gloucestershire in which David Hughes defied light that gets worse with every passing year to hit the off-spinner John Mortimore for 24 runs in an over. The anniversary of that famous game actually occurred on July 28 last year but the dinner had to be postponed because of Covid.No matter. The folk attending that dinner will ignore the rain that is pelting down outside and they will tell tales of the days when Annie Walker ruled The Rover’s Return, old footballers served in pubs and women wore hats in church. Some of the yarns they exchange may even be true although one would not be shocked to hear it asserted that they don’t make bad light like they used to.That semi-final victory against Gloucestershire has become as much a part of Lancashire folklore as Francis Thompson’s run-stealers, Reggie Spooner’s style and Jack Simmons’ appetite. Yet some of those dining in the pavilion will also have watched today’s cricket and they should be full of admiration for Wells, whose drives through the off-side tortured every Warwickshire seamer with the exception of Olly Hannon-Dalby, who bowled 11 overs for 13 runs.Related

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Both Wells and Jennings are 6ft 4in left-handers but they complemented each other perfectly on this Friday afternoon and the only pity was that our day’s cricket was shortened by 35 overs, first by bad light, and then by drizzle, which became so heavy that Matt Merchant and his team had the square covered long before play was abandoned at 5.20. “I can’t stand the rain,” sang a Lancashire steward, although, heaven help us, he’s hardly had any of the stuff to dislike this spring.Instead, staff and supporters have been able to appreciate the honest toil of bowlers like Hasan Ali, who took two of the three wickets to fall this morning, and the strokeplay of Wells who hit Craig Miles for three fours before lunch and Nathan McAndrew for three more in the long hour when the members were digesting their lunches and the Vice-Presidents were getting stuck into the Grand Marnier. Wells reached his fifty off 90 balls with a square-driven four off Danny Briggs. In most of his dozen boundaries there was a minimum of effort but a maximum of return, although that could not be said of the fifth ball of the 42nd over, which was bowled by Rob Yates and clouted to the boundary over mid-on. Inspired by this cleanly-hit stroke, the umpires decided the light was not up to snuff and took the players off.Actually it had been getting gloomy for some time and ten minutes later it was raining. The spectators went home and one hopes they appreciated the fine batting they had seen. For his part, Wells is delighted to play for Lancashire now, but he was born in Eastbourne and it was strangely moving to watch a cricketer raised in Sussex bat so beautifully on what would have been Alan Ross’s hundredth birthday.Perhaps only one person in Emirates Old Trafford was aware that this was the centenary of one of the finest cricket writers and prose stylists that ever composed a sentence. But maybe we should let that pass on this soaking Mancunian evening. The members are returning and soon they will be shawled in their memories. Meanwhile, a member of the catering staff is laying the table in preparation for the festivities. On a whim, she turns to her mate: “But, tell me,” she says, “Who is this David Hughes, anyway? Has he been on Strictly?”

“More or less for me now it’s just about having fun and enjoying however many days I have playing international cricket”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2021″It was kind of a shock” for Jason Holder to be relieved from the West Indies Test captaincy, and while he admits to finding it difficult to transition from being the leader to an ordinary member of the team, he wants to focus more on his game, and be a sounding board for youngsters looking for guidance.”Yeah, it’s been difficult. I probably may not show it, but it has been difficult,” Holder told ESPNcricinfo in an interview a couple of days away from the start of West Indies’ first Test against South Africa in St Lucia. “For the last five-six years, I’ve been captaining West Indies, whether that be Test-match cricket or one-day cricket. So now being relieved of both captaincies, it has been a strange transition for me personally.”Related

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Kraigg Brathwaite led West Indies in Bangladesh when Holder, as well as a number of other regulars, opted out of the tour because of the Covid-19 situation around the world. West Indies swept the two-Test series, and when it was time to select the squad for the home series against Sri Lanka in March, the team kept faith in Brathwaite. Roger Harper, the lead selector, said at the time that Brathwaite’s role in shepherding the team successfully in the absence of many first-choice players in Bangladesh had played a big role in his appointment on a permanent basis.That meant Holder’s stint as captain, which had begun in October 2015, ended after 37 matches, which included 11 wins and 21 losses. It was a period in which he climbed to great heights as a player, piling on big hauls with the ball and even hitting a double-century with the bat. After 47 Tests, Holder has 123 wickets at an average of 27.41, 2253 runs at an average of 33.13, and the No. 1 spot in the ICC rankings for Test allrounders.Holder played the home series against Sri Lanka, in Antigua, and did well. In the first Test, there was a five-wicket haul (his eighth in Tests) and in the second, there were scores of 30 and 71* – both matches were drawn.”It was kind of a shock. Yeah, still lost for words in regards to that, but I am not dwelling on it. I don’t think it’s something I should dwell on, to be fair,” Holder said. “I am just trying to find ways to move on and transition back to just being a regular player. For me now, it’s about showing a bit more of my character, and being a lot more… I would say outspoken. I am relatively outspoken, but just expressing myself a little bit more and having fun.”I feel as though I have been really, really committed to West Indies cricket – I am still committed to West Indies cricket, but more or less for me now it’s just about having fun and enjoying however many days I have playing international cricket.”Holder is still only 29, and has spent most of his career at the highest level in leadership roles. Without that responsibility, Holder felt he would have to redesign his role in the team.”There is a lot less pressure, a lot less responsibility. It’s just about me now personally… I’m a 100% team man. So I’ll play my part to help the team and if there are other players who are seeking out advice or guidance, no doubt I’ll be here to give them that,” he said. “But it’s no longer a time where you’ve got to look to select teams, look at combinations… all these things have just gone through the window. So for me now, it’s just a little bit more detailed as to as to my preparation into myself, particularly, and not having to deal with the team aspect of it.”I guess my contributions now will be more so in small groups and one-on-one basis with the players. And team meetings obviously I’ll share my expertise, and give as much guidance as I possibly can, but I still think the captain has to be given his leeway to lead the team the way he wants to lead the team, and we’ve got to give him confidence and support that we can as the group.”The first West Indies vs South Africa Test starts on June 10, with the second set for a June 18 start at the same venue.

BCB says those who came in close contact with the infected player have also been isolated

Mohammad Isam20-Sep-2020A Bangladesh men’s player, who was among the 27 to participate in the skill-training camp ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, has been isolated after showing “classical Covid-like symptoms”, according to the BCB. Those who came in close contact with him have also been isolated, following the latest Covid-19 tests conducted by the board ahead of the camp that began in Dhaka on Sunday. Their next set of tests will be on September 22.The BCB said two players were identified as “borderline negative” in the tests conducted on September 18 and 19, including the one with Covid-19-like symptoms. The players in question did not participate in the camp.”Out of the 27 cricketers for the Bangladesh team skill camp tested on September 18 and 19, two cases have been identified as ‘borderline negative’ with one of them showing classical Covid-19-like symptoms,” the BCB said in a statement. “As per the Covid-19 management guideline and to maintain Bio-Secure Environment standards, the symptomatic individual along with all the players who have been in close contact with him recently, have been isolated until the next test on September 22.”The BCB, however, didn’t say what would happen to the other player who it called “borderline negative”.Saif Hassan, too, is scheduled to be tested for a third time, on September 22. Hassan is currently quarantined at home after two recent positive results, although he is part of the 27-man training squad. These players have been isolating at a city hotel, from where they are expected to go to Mirpur every day for the next six days, starting Sunday.

UK death toll from Covid-19 causing disquiet in the Caribbean, says CWI CEO Johnny Grave

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2020West Indies’ cricketers will only tour England for their postponed Test series in July if they are “100% sure” they are not putting their health at risk, according to the CWI chief executive, Johnny Grave.Speaking on Sky Sports after it was confirmed that England’s players plan to begin their own phased return to training on Monday, Grave admitted that the UK’s death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic, already in excess of 30,000, has caused some alarm in the Caribbean.”There are relatively few cases here in the Caribbean, therefore, we’re all relatively safe from a coronavirus point of view,” he said. “Just in terms of sheer numbers of deaths in the UK, obviously over 30,000 people is an enormous number but in population terms here in the Caribbean for people who are based and who have lived most of their lives on the smaller islands, you are talking about 40-50 per cent of the total populations.”It is a very different mindset here in terms of going to what is seen as one of the eyes of the storm of this virus. So we’re going to have to be very, very careful that first up we take the medical advice that the ECB give us and secondly that we’re 100 per cent sure that we’re not putting any player’s health at risk before we can contemplate the tour taking place.ALSO READ: England face Ben Stokes dilemma in event of split squads“We’ve had, as you can imagine, lots of conversations individually and – as of the start of this month – we started really a much wider discussion with the ECB over what a tour might look like,” he added.”Certainly, from our point of view, it’s really just listening to those ECB plans both from Steve Elworthy [Director of Special Projects], from a logistics and venue point of view, and professor Nick Peirce [Chief Medical Officer] from a medical point of view.”So, we’re in good dialogue with the ECB and ultimately we’re waiting to hear from them and clearly they need to get UK Government approval before we can seriously contemplate a tour to the UK.”Ashley Giles, England’s team director, admitted that he could understand West Indies’ concerns, but remained confident that the tour would go ahead as planned.”I would be nervous, certainly, but I think we are all nervous, aren’t we? Clearly being outside and looking in, as with any scenario, it can be quite scary but we are doing everything we possibly can to answer all of the West Indies’ questions and we will be speaking to Pakistan as well and mitigate as much risk as we possibly can. We can’t mitigate all risk but as much as possible to get guys comfortable.”We have to remain confident. A big part of my job is trying to get cricket on but it has to be safe and it has to be right. We would never compromise the safety of our players and our people. Right now I am confident. We hope we don’t take another dip which would put all of us back, [but] if we continue on this trajectory hopefully we will have the right conditions to play some Test cricket.”A significant hurdle for CWI will be the assembling of their squad ahead of the trip to England, with all internal flights in the Caribbean currently suspended.”At the moment there’s no regional travel between the main airlines so first up we need to think through where the pool of players would come from across the Caribbean,” said Grave.”We’d expect at least seven or eight countries to make up the Test squad. I don’t think commercial flying is going to be appropriate here from the medical advice that we’ve been getting so we’re looking at chartering planes within the Caribbean and then ultimately a trans-Atlantic charter to get over to England.”

The left-arm spinner rarely fails to deliver and is shaping as a vital part of the plans for next year’s T20 World Cup

Deivarayan Muthu11-Nov-2019The ultra-short boundaries at Eden Park, known as the postage stamp, are mean to the bowlers. They can be even meaner when rain cuts a 20-over series decider into 11 overs. After England’s bowlers suffer at the hands of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro, Eoin Morgan launches the visitors’ chase with a hat-trick of boundaries. Sam Curran then goes one better, clubbing Scott Kuggeleijn for four boundaries in a row. Jonny Bairstow, too, joins the carnage as England rack up 52 in just three overs. Bairstow has now nicked off for 47, but England are fairly well-placed at 100 for 4 in seven overs.Captain Tim Southee turns to Mitchell Santner in search of a wicket. The left-arm spinner delivers a double blow, but then the match goes into another Super Over and we all know how that unfolds. However, Santner’s strikes and composure under pressure showed why he’s New Zealand’s MVP heading into the T20 World Cup across the Tasman Sea next year. Once he saw Sam Curran advance down the track, he speared a back-of-a-length slider well past the tramline and had the batsman stumped off an off-side wide for 24 off 11 balls. Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert, who was mic’d up, suggested that Santner probably knew that the batsman was coming at him.Mitchell Santner celebrates a wicket•AFP

Santner then made a rare error, looping a non-turning half-volley, which Lewis Gregory muscled over long-on for six. But he wasn’t flustered and bravely floated the next one up at 85kph, and got it to turn away, daring Gregory to manufacture pace for himself. Gregory swung hard, but Santner’s clever change-up defeated him as he could only scoop it as far as extra-cover. He conceded only singles off the next four balls to finish an excellent 11-run over. Earlier, in his first over, the fourth of the chase, Santner had given away only nine runs. In daunting defence against a power-packed line-up on flat track, Santner came away with the two most economical overs. What might have been had Santner been handed another over?While Santner doesn’t quite demand the attention that Sunil Narine or wristspinners do these days, there’s no denying his class and control. It was on bright display during the 50-over World Cup in the UK earlier this year and also during this T20I series against England. Santner ended the series as the top wicket-taker with 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.83 and strike rate of 9.8. Ish Sodhi and Adil Rashid, the purveyors of the more glamorous variety of spin – wristspin – managed only three wickets each while proving more expensive. Sodhi went at 11.73 an over while Rashid fared somewhat better, conceding at 9.54.Meanwhile, left-arm seamer Sam Curran, who had the benefit of bowling as many overs as Santner did (18), picked up six wickets at an economy rate of 8.50. It’s no secret these days that Santner bowls one over in the powerplay and then works his way through the middle overs. Yet, batsmen haven’t been able to line him up as he hits the hard length in the early exchanges and then, when the batsman is desperately searching for the big hits, Santner slows up his pace. He also thrives by shifting his lines wide of off, challenging the batsmen to fetch the ball and then slog it. More than 80% of Santner’s success this series is down to hanging the ball up outside off or even wider. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, he has bowled 62 balls around that line, grabbing nine wickets and conceding 81 runs.Santner’s wiles, in particular, were key to New Zealand pinning England down at the Westpac Stadium in the second T20I. Chris Jordan had shellacked Sodhi for four successive sixes and then cracked Lockie Ferguson over mid-off for four, threatening a late jailbreak. England were needing 49 off 30 balls when Southee tossed the ball over to his main man Santner. After his first ball was sent over extra-cover for four, Santner responded strongly by having Jordan holing out with a nifty drop in pace. Game over for England.”Chris Jordan was hitting it pretty well there at the end,” Santner said at the post-match press conference. “When you bowl slow as a spinner, I guess you’ve quite a fine margin – you can be swept square or pulled square. You try to hit a couple in the [block]hole and mix it up. You try not to be too predictable and it was nice to get that wicket and go from there.”Speaking to Radio Sport, Santner said that the wickets of big-hitters like Morgan and Jordan gave him extra pleasure. “They’re one of the best T20 sides at the moment and the way they like to play T20 cricket is to come pretty hard and that’s what they do whether you’re taking wickets or not. It’s one of things that even if you get a wicket, you’ve got to be on top of your game because the English can come hard and put you under pressure. And the best way to stall momentum is to take wickets throughout.”All told, Santner has bagged 20 T20I wickets in 2019 – the most among bowlers from Full Member nations in the shortest format. This time last year, Santner was recovering from a knee surgery, wondering if he could prove his fitness in time for the World Cup. He, ultimately, made it to the UK and almost helped New Zealand win the tournament. Then, he almost helped New Zealand win the T20I series against England. If he keeps up his form, Santner could prove more effective on the larger grounds in Australia by this time next year and could (actually) help New Zealand win a World Cup.

Competition is open to girls between the ages of 7 and 11 in England and Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2019Ahead of a significant international summer for the England women’s team – including a home Ashes series – ECB is teaming up with the nine first-class counties hosting international women’s cricket this year to launch the #HeathersPride competition on International Women’s Day.Women’s and girls’ cricket in England and Wales continues to grow and to celebrate that, this competition, fronted by England captain Heather Knight, will give 11 girls across the country a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join her and the England players for a training session ahead of the Ashes.The competition is open to girls between the ages of 7 and 11 across the country. To find the 11 winners, the nine first-class counties in question will each select one worthy winner from their county who explains to them why she deserves the chance to be a member of #HeathersPride.The remaining two winners will be selected from across England and Wales by Knight herself, as ‘Captain’s Picks’.Entries will be made via social media (using #HeathersPride) or via email. Those applying through their counties should see their respective county websites for further details. If you do not have a connection with one of the nine venues hosting international women’s cricket this summer, you can apply to be a Captain’s Pick by emailing [email protected] with subject #HeathersPride.Entries for the competition will close on May 1.Speaking about the competition, Knight said: “International Women’s Day is a great moment to reflect on the progress of women’s and girls’ cricket. We’ve made so much progress over the last few years and we want to keep moving forward. At the very top, we’re pushing towards more depth and having more professional players, while it’s amazing that more and more girls are playing the game through initiatives like All Stars.Nat Sciver celebrates the World Cup win at Lord’s with her team-mates•Getty Images

“Chance to Shine also celebrated introducing cricket to its two-millionth girl this week. It’s exciting to think of how many girls are now choosing cricket. Some of the best moments from our win in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup was seeing young girls imitate us on the sidelines and hopefully many more will be inspired by this competition to become part of #HeathersPride. I can’t wait to see all the winners in the summer!”Clare Connor, who was appointed managing director of women’s cricket at ECB, in January 2019, added, “Our strategy for 2020-24 is all about inspiring future generations and this is a great initiative from Heather and the counties to really bring that to life by giving 11 lucky girls the chance to train with their heroes for the day.”Whilst International Women’s Day is an appropriate day to celebrate the progress made so far it’s also important to recognise the challenges we still face in our ultimate ambition of making cricket a gender balanced sport. The Inspiring Generations strategy outlines an ambition to invest £50m into women’s and girls’ cricket over the four-year period and this level of investment will help us continue to both increase the number of women and girls playing recreationally, as well as grow the profile of the elite women’s game.”Heather’s and the team’s victory at the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup created a huge opportunity for us and now we must take that to the next level through this strategy. As all of that exciting work takes shape, I’m looking forward to seeing the training session with the 11 winners of Heather’s Pride and the England women’s team this summer.”This week has also seen the independent national cricket charity, Chance to Shine, celebrate the two-millionth girl signing up to play cricket as part of its development programme: nine-year-old Keira from Staffordshire. The charity used this opportunity to announce new funding for a secondary school’s girls’ programme, which will aim to reach over 14,000 girls across the country teaching them key leadership skills through the game of cricket.To enter the #HeathersPride competition please email [email protected] or visit the website of your respective County. The nine venues hosting international women’s cricket this summer and taking part in the competition are:* Derbyshire
* Essex
* Gloucestershire
* Kent
* Leicestershire
* Northamptonshire
* Somerset
* Sussex
* Worcestershire