Year Ender 2023 | Women’s cricket round-up: WPL launches, Lanning retires, ‘critical’ role in Olympics nod

March 4 ushered in a new era for the women’s game as the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) kicked off to much fanfare at the DY Patil in Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Captain Kaur’s match-winning 30-ball 65 and then uncapped left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque’s 4 for 11 headlined Mumbai Indians’ emphatic 143-run win in the tournament opener against Gujarat Giants. Mumbai went on to win the 22-match, five-team competition, beating the Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals in the final at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.

“It's a special moment for all of us, and I have been waiting for this moment for a long, long time, and today I can feel how one feels after winning [a trophy], and I think I should give credit to all the support staff and everyone. It was a great experience for me. Looking forward to the next year now," Kaur said at the post-match presentation.

The WPL, which had $580 mn spent on acquiring the five franchises and broadcasting rights sold for $117 mn over a five-year period, attracted promising crowds at both stadiums, with the BCCI having opted for free entry for women (men had to purchase tickets for Rs100 or Rs400). "It was a great experience for all of us, we were waiting for this moment for so many years," Kaur said. “It feels like a dream, I think not only for me but for everyone here, even for the crowd also. So many people were asking us, "When the WPL is going to come?" And today that day is here and I'm so happy…”

ICC draws prize money parity

In July, the ICC announced prize money parity for men’s and women’s teams at subsequent ICC events. The decision was made during the ICC annual conference held in the South African city of Durban, “marking a significant milestone in ICC's endeavour to achieve prize money parity by 2030, surpassing the predetermined timeline for the same,” said an ICC release. “Teams will now receive equal prize money for finishing in similar positions at comparable events as well as the same amount for winning a match at those events.”

The decision came on the back of moves from the governing body’s member boards in recent years to achieve pay parity at various levels.  In 2022, New Zealand Cricket and the country’s cricket players' association signed a historic five-year deal that saw male and female cricketers receive equal pay. Last October, the BCCI announced equal match fee for its men and women cricketers for international appearances.

In late August this year, South Africa followed suit, announcing equal pay across genders in terms of match fee in international cricket. The month rounded off with England becoming the latest country to introduce match-fee parity for its male and female cricketers. In addition, Cricket Australia, in April, announced that payments for the country’s professional women cricketers will rise 66 per cent under a new five-year deal between the board and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.

Raft of retirements: Ismail, Naseem, Tippoch, Lanning

Arguably the fastest bowler in the women’s game, South Africa speedster Shabnim Ismail called time on her 16-year international career in May. She cited “wanting to spend more time with my family" among the reasons to quit international cricket and ply her trade on the T20 domestic-league circuit. In July, the big-hitting Pakistan youngster, Ayesha Naseem, announced her shock retirement from international cricket at just 18 years old, owing to undisclosed “personal reasons”.

October saw former Thailand captain Sornnarin Tippoch bring down the curtains on a near 16-year playing career, during which she led the country to their first-ever T20 World Cup appearance, at the 2020 mega-event in Australia. Then, in early November, came the retirement announcement that sent shock waves across the sport as Meg Lanning, the most successful cricket captain in history, stepped away from international cricket following a 13-year, 241-match career for Australia. “I no longer have the spark or motivation to do what needs to happen at this level, so for me it’s time to move on,” Lanning, 31, said at an emotional press conference in Melbourne.

Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan upend world order

In a year their captain, Chamari Athapaththu, became the first Sri Lankan woman to top the ICC batting rankings in ODIs, the team recorded their first series win against England, in September, not in the least on English soil, when they downed Heather Knight’s team by seven and eight wickets, respectively, to come back from 1-0 down. The victory, helmed by Payer of the Series Athapaththu, marked England’s first T20I series defeat by a side other than Australia since 2010.

It followed Sri Lanka’s home 2-1 ODI victory against New Zealand in June and came in the same month as Pakistan's 3-0 sweep of South Africa in their T20I series. Pakistan, under captain Nida Dar, then beat New Zealand for the first time in a T20I to open their away series earlier this month. They followed it up with a 10-run win in the second game, bringing up their Pakistan's first T20I series win away from home since October 2018, and their first T20I series victory outside Asia and Ireland.

December also saw Bangladesh, for their part, defeated hosts South Africa on their home turf for the first time in women's T20I and second time overall.

Women’s game ‘critical’ factor in cricket’s nod at LA28 Olympics

Observing the women’s cricket competition, which took place in the T20 format, at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, played a vital role in convincing the Organising Committee of the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics (LA 2028) towards re-awarding cricket the Olympics cachet.

That was the view of Niccolò Campriani, a three-time Olympic gold medallist shooter from Italy who is the sports director of LA 2028. Campriani shared his thoughts in a mixed-zone media interaction at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Convention Centre in Mumbai on October 16, a red-letter day for the sport on which cricket’s inclusion on the LA 2028 sports programme was officially rubber-stamped, during the second day of the International Olympic Committee’s 141st Session.

"There was also karate, kickboxing, and breaking [that LA 2028 had been considering],” Campriani said. “What we did is for every sport we had one formal submission from the international federation, one observation — which for cricket was at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The observation from the CWG was just amazing. We all loved it. We got a glimpse of what cricket can be in the LA context. We were not planning to fly for an IPL game, so that observation was critical. So, yes, women's cricket played a critical role [in cricket making the final cut].”

Women’s Test cricket returns to India

“Everyone in the world...they want to play in India…I know a lot hinges on the Indian cricket team when it comes to women's cricket. The way the approach is changing in India concerning women’s cricket, obviously, we have a lot in our hands,” India captain Kaur had said before their two-Test season in December, which saw the women’s national cricket team play not one, but two, Tests at home as the format returned to the country after over nine years.

Kaur and her team made good on both opportunities, rare as they are, to showcase their skills in whites. The first, against England at the DY Patil Stadium, kicked off a month to remember for India in red-ball cricket. On Test captaincy debut, Kaur led the home team to a 347-run win, the highest margin ever in the women’s game. Less than a week later, the team etched its name in the annals again, thanks to an eight-wicket victory over Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, marking India’s first win in the longest format against them in women’s Tests.

Fifty-plus scores from the trio of India’s batting debutants in the format — Jemimah Rodrigues (68) and Shubha Satheesh (69) against England and Richa Ghosh (52) against Australia  — was one of the standout features in India’s twin victories. Deepti Sharma’s all-round show (67 and 5 for 7; 20 and 4 for 32) and Sneh Rana’s off-spin offensive (3 for 56 and 4 for 63) rightfully earned them the Player-of-the-Match distinctions in game one and two, respectively, in a year like no other for women's cricket in India and beyond.