North Sydney Oval:<\/b> Former Australia captain Alyssa Healy and former international Mel Jones have voiced concerns over the lack of visibility and scheduling space for the country\u2019s women\u2019s cricket team, despite its continued success on the global stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia\u2019s third ODI against New Zealand at North Sydney Oval last Thursday clashed with the final day of the men\u2019s Test against South Africa in Gqeberha. Rain in Sydney subsequently restricted the women\u2019s match to just 16 balls, bringing an already frustrating evening to an abrupt end.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThey\u2019re playing at North Sydney Oval at 7:15pm \u2026 the Test begins at 7pm. I mean, we\u2019re even clashing against our own side that\u2019s playing overseas. It\u2019s disappointing. I think the fact that our girls are playing as well as they are and aren\u2019t quite getting the spotlight here in our own country is really frustrating,\u201d Healy told foxsports.com.au.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jones echoed the sentiment, questioning why Australia\u2019s women\u2019s team was not receiving the platform its performances deserved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI completely agree with Midge (Healy), which might be the first time we\u2019ve actually agreed on something,\u201d Jones laughed. <\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe know that we have probably the best sporting team in the world on our doorstep, and we\u2019re not allowing that tag and their elite performances and amazing stories and capabilities and athleticism to be showcased. When you\u2019ve got something like this, you want to show it off and you want to put it on the pedestal it deserves. And having a summer like this in which it has been really difficult for fans to come out and support this team is hugely disappointing,\u201d she opined.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The scheduling concerns extend beyond the abandoned match. Australia\u2019s women will go more than four months without an international on home soil, with their October ODI and T20I series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, respectively, confined to Brisbane and Sydney.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEven a minor detail \u2013 you\u2019re having the three ODIs in Brisbane and the three T20s in Sydney \u2013 there\u2019s not even an opportunity for the whole of Australia to see a team that\u2019s just come off a World Cup win. And that to me is really disappointing,\u201d Healy added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The calendar has been complicated by the Women\u2019s Premier League (WPL), the Women\u2019s Big Bash League (WBBL) and the International Cricket Council\u2019s decision to move the inaugural Women\u2019s Champions Trophy to February 2027. However, Jones believes scheduling pressures should not come at the expense of the national team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYou look at scheduling, and it\u2019s the most difficult job in cricket at the moment, I think, because we are inundated with overlapping fixtures. We all understand that and we all understand it\u2019s a tough ask to try and allow everyone to have their space. But you\u2019re starting from the top down, aren\u2019t you?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got your two premier sides, the men\u2019s teams and the women\u2019s teams. There needs to be a more concerted effort to ensure that situations like this don\u2019t occur. And that\u2019s not just Cricket Australia. There were probably other circumstances around it that played into it, but when you just look at it as a punter and a fan of the game, you just go, well, that\u2019s really disappointing. It\u2019s a little bit of a lack of respect of the number one team in the world and not giving them space to shine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The fact that the men\u2019s Test schedule was finalised relatively late also drew criticism from Jones.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI would have thought that it\u2019s probably more a case of, it\u2019s going to be harder to shift it than not. But then you go back to South Africa and you say, well, you\u2019re late on your scheduling! I\u2019d love to know the kind of pushback on the men\u2019s side of things once the women\u2019s were locked in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has since pledged to explore alternatives and get \u201ccreative\u201d with future scheduling. With the ICC\u2019s Future Tours Programme leaving limited opportunities for home internationals during the peak summer period, proposed solutions include staging women\u2019s T20Is after men\u2019s Tests or aligning the WBBL with the men\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Healy believes adjustments remain possible despite the schedule being largely set.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has since pledged to explore alternatives and get \u201ccreative\u201d with future scheduling. With the ICC\u2019s Future Tours Programme leaving limited opportunities for home internationals during the peak summer period, proposed solutions include staging women\u2019s T20Is after men\u2019s Tests or aligning the WBBL with the men\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n