International cricketers-turned-broadcasters Ian Bishop and Lisa Sthalekar have stressed on the need for cricket boards to resume women’s cricket activities post the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the momentum that has been generated after the Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia earlier this year isn’t lost.

Bishop was recently involved as a commentator for West Indies’ Test series in England, the first taste of international cricket during the pandemic. “It should give cricket boards and the ICC greater insight into how to carry this game out. Now the women’s game and the administrators can look at this without endangering anyone’s lives and say: we can play cricket safely,” Bishop said after the release of the documentary titled ‘Beyond the Boundary’ — on the T20 World Cup — by the International Cricket Council on an OTT platform on Friday.

So now it’s time to get on the bicycle and start putting things in place. We must look to drive it forward now. Even if it’s for bilateral tours, because we know that now we can do it safely.”

Sthalekar, the former Australia international, was pleased with the fact that the Women’s Big Bash League and the Women’s T20 Challenge are planned by Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. While she admitted that the clash of both the tournaments in November isn’t ideal, she preferred to draw positives."

Read more at The Hindu

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Big Bash was first, so why IPL encroached on that territory defies logic, but it is what it is.

Women's cricket needs to take off and become a bigger thing (outside of Aus/Eng) but I don't think the market is there the way it is for the men's game.

Maybe they need some out-of-the-box ideas instead of copying the men's style. Instead of bilaterals, how about regional tourneys? Challenge Cups in England/Ireland and Aus/NZ?

It is easier said than done. It is easy for Bishop to suggest more cricket for women, but if the games do not attract viewership how could it encourage organizers?

In reply to dayne

It's a bit of rock and hard place, this. ICC has as their mandate the promotion of the women's game. I think for some countries, funding is determined in part by the presence or absence of a women's programme.