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AllFlying |
Down but
not out
We
lost the Ashes for the first time in 42 years and our best player and captain
retired. Yet Belinda Clark remains excited about the future of women's cricket.
Sally Browne looks
at the reasons behind her optimism...
 Belinda
Clark is arguably the greatest female cricketer to have ever played the
game. She holds a host of batting records, including most Test runs by
Australian women (919), most one-day international runs (4844), highest
ever one-day international score by a male or female (229 not out), and
the most runs by an Australian in World Cup competition (1151). She retired
last month following an unsuccessful Ashes campaign but believes the women's
game has never been in better shape.
However, despite losing the Ashes for the first time since 1963 and her
retirement, the outgoing-captain is predicting exciting times for the
future of women's cricket both in this country and world-wide.
"The women's game is heading in the right direction and is a lot stronger
both strategically and operationally than when I first played. It's really
encouraging to see the sport growing, particularly among young girls,
and to see new, young talent coming up through the ranks."
Clark, who played 118 one-day internationals and 15 Tests in a career
spanning 14 years, says the games has changed and playing standards improved
since she made her Test debut in 1991.
"I think cricket in general has changed over that time, with one-day cricket
really taking hold. The Australian teams, both men's and women's, have
pushed the boundaries a bit, which has been terrific, but obviously other
countries are catching up, and it's time to re-evaluate and go again."
She will remain involved in the game through her new job at the Commonwealth
Bank Centre of Excellence (CBCE), where, in September, she became the
first female manager of the centre.
Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland praised the appointment of Clark
to the role, stressing the importance of the centre in the development
of the cricket in all forms.
"Belinda Clark has been successful in cricket both on and off the field.
She is a natural leader, an extremely competent cricket administrator
and we are very fortunate to be able to appoint someone of her caliber
to this important role."
"The Centre of Excellence was conceived with a broad vision to develop
players, coaches, umpires, curators and administrators. While our focus
has predominately been on player and coach development, our longer term
strategy still remains to build the Centre of Excellence into a broader
development system for all support aspects of cricket."
While the CBCE supports both male and female cricket, with the former
women's captain at the helm it can be safe to assume that the women's
game will be given the attention and respect it deserves, and needs, if
it is to flourish.
Previously the Events and Services Manager for Cricket Australia, Clark
is excited to be still able to "be involved and contribute to Australian
cricket" through her new role, in which she will lead a staff of nine,
including Australian women's coach Mark Sorell.
"Australian cricket has had a sound development system in place for some
time, but Cricket Australia is always striving to improve and to make
sure there is a continued regeneration and development in the game."
"We certainly can't be complacent about the direction the game needs to
head and I'm really looking forward to the move and working with the coaches
and staff in Brisbane to keep Australian cricket at the leading edge."
While women's cricket remains a poor distant cousin to the male version,
recent off-field developments are ensuring the females continue to take
giant steps forward, toward professionalism and public recognition.
Following the World Cup in South Africa in April (won by Australia) women's
cricket was formally integrated with the International Cricket Council
(ICC), the governing body the international game. Prior to this the female
game had been governed separately, through the International Women's Cricket
Council (IWCC).
Considered a somewhat bold move, perceived benefits from the integration
include increases in participation levels and resources and an enhanced
profile for the women's game. Alignment of ICC policies, playing conditions,
the code of conduct, competitions, facilities and equipment will also
assist in the promotion and development of the game.
Indicating their dedication to women's cricket the ICC also appointed
Megan Smith into the role of Women's Project Officer and has established
an ICC Women's Committee to work with the ICC and manage and govern the
sport and make recommendations for improvements.
A number of ICC member countries have also followed suit, integrating
the women's game with the men's, hopefully leading to much needed improvements
in the development and profile of women's cricket.
The benefits may be appearing already, with Queensland Cricket announcing
recently that its domestic side will, for the first time, be given winning
bonuses for the 2005 season, beginning November 5.
The Queensland Fire's incentive system is the first agreement made for
a women's national league team to be rewarded financially based on playing
performances. Players will be paid $200 for each victory.
While it is a long way from the men - men's captain Ricky Ponting was
paid around $180, 000 for his involvement in the October Super-Series
- it's a step in the right direction. NSW has also made provisions for
scholarships to financially assist their players.
The Australian women's team will see for the first time the impact the
loss of Clark has when it heads to India for a Test match and three one-dayers
in February.
Clark remains confident that women's team will flourish under its new
captain, yet to be announced, and will continue to improve and flourish.
"They have got a strong playing group that is a good mix of senior and
youth players, and I've got no doubt in my mind that they will go from
strength to strength."
"I think these are exciting times."
By Sally Browne
(Nov 2005)
Links
Women's Cricket Team
http://www.southernstars.org.au
Cricket Australia
http://www.cricket.com.au/
ICC
http://www.icc-cricket.com/
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