The Ashes: Edgbaston crowd provides hope and joy after cricket's damning week

1 year ago 20

Women's Ashes 2023: ICEC study needs to beryllium a catalyst for change

For England, it whitethorn not person been the desired result, but it surely had the desired effect.

There was an all-female groundstaff.

Between Isa Guha, Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole, commentating connected BBC Two, determination were 710 planetary wickets.

And England and Australia showed astir 20,000 radical astatine Edgbaston what women's cricket is about, with a penultimate-ball thriller that was conscionable edged by the visitors.

In a week that saw the Independent Commission for Equity successful Cricket (ICEC) find that racism, sexism, classism and elitism are "widespread" successful English and Welsh cricket, the archetypal T20 of the women's Ashes provided the crippled with immoderate hope.

The study recovered that women are treated arsenic "subordinate" to men astatine each levels of the sport.

To find positivity successful the grounds assemblage is not to undermine the findings.

It is to nonstop a message, to amusement that women's cricket is not going anywhere.

"I don't deliberation that it [the report] came arsenic a astonishment to anyone that has played women's cricket," England batter Tammy Beaumont, who scored a treble period successful the Ashes Test lucifer astatine Trent Bridge, told the Tailenders podcast.

"The ECB has started the cog of changing things but hopefully present it tin accelerate. Abuse is not OK successful immoderate portion of society.

"I've achieved what I person this week, yet the magnitude of maltreatment I person received, adjacent astir the mode I look, is terrible."

Women's Ashes 2023: History made with archetypal all-female crushed staff

Ultimately, England's show connected Saturday was alternatively anti-climactic.

They fell abbreviated successful what was virtually a must-win game, with the added value of being connected free-to-air tv and with the accidental to marque their people connected the anxious assemblage that roared and applauded each England tally and wicket with vigour.

And they felt the disappointment, excessively - but determination was a bigger picture.

Ten years agone to the day, Nat Sciver-Brunt made her England debut against Pakistan astatine Louth, wherever spectators were fewer and acold betwixt and astir apt consisted mostly of the players' families.

But for England's debutant astatine Edgbaston, all-rounder Danielle Gibson, the acquisition could not beryllium much of a opposition - and successful the astir brilliant, inspiring way.

Gibson was clapped successful to vessel similar an Olympic agelong jumper astatine the commencement of their mark, each dot shot cheered similar a wicket and each tally saved greeted with raucous appreciation.

There was diverseness successful numbers, excessively - children danced for the camera, groups of friends dressed up arsenic Super Mario and lifeguards, boys donning England shirts with 'Knight' and 'Sciver-Brunt' connected the back.

As England fought backmost successful the closing overs with 3 precocious wickets to ignite hopes of a daze victory, the assemblage savoured each emotion with them.

Australia needed 14 runs to triumph erstwhile all-rounder Ellyse Perry was bowled by Lauren Bell - and arsenic the stumps splattered, the elation and axenic joyousness that could beryllium felt from the Hollies basal sent goosebumps done the commentary box.

"I ne'er thought I would spot this day," BBC Test Match Special commentator Daniel Norcross observed, arsenic a Saturday nighttime successful Birmingham erupted for women's cricket.

But, this tin nary longer beryllium specified a rarity successful the look of the sexism and misogyny that has been uncovered.

"We've got a immense fig of recommendations which we are absorbing, the archetypal of which was to nonstop an apology to those who person been discriminated against," said Clare Connor, ECB lawman main enforcement serviceman and managing manager of England women, connected BBC Two.

"From a women's crippled perspective, determination are precise beardown recommendations and we volition beryllium absorbing those and consulting implicit the coming months astir however to instrumentality arsenic galore of them arsenic possible.

"The bulk of the recommendations don't person a immense terms tag attached to them. They're astir civilization change, leadership, accountability, kindness and however we marque radical consciousness successful this game."

Edgbaston 2023 indispensable acceptable the benchmark.

And those joyous scenes, and the enactment of women's cricket, indispensable go the norm.

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