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Thrive like a girl: Why women's cricket in Australia is setting the standard

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Thrive like a girl: Why women's cricket in Australia is setting the standardWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementLog in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeIn 1980, American writer Iris Marion Young published an essay entitled 'Throwing like a Girl'.In it, she rejected the idea that a "feminine essence" was the reason behind differences in throwing actions of some, not all, men and women.Young argued movements of women and girls were constricted by societal forces and gender norms.In general, she said from a young age, boys more-so than girls, were encouraged to extend outwards into space, and as a result females tended to not reach the full limits of their physical capacities.She pointed to observations on the length and openness of the male stride as opposed to a woman's, and the way females often carried books to the chest but males swung them by their side. And positioning of legs – either crossed or spread – when seated.For Young it was clear: situation, not biology, was the cause. To throw "like a girl" was the result of space not being given to women in the same way it was to men.So, with this theory in mind, it begs the question: what can happen when girls see space as their own?AdvertisementOn March 8 this year at the MCG, a crowd of 86,174 – and a further 1.21 million television viewers – saw the answer with their own eyes.And for the millions in the past month who who have seen the ball fly over the boundary rope 261 times in the WBBL, the answer is clear too.For vibrant evidence of the impacts of culture in sporting prowess, look no further than women's cricket in Australia.Today's female Aussie cricketers – Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and co – are superstars in their own right. If a Healy or a Lanning is on fire at the crease, tweets go out: "Get to a screen".Their talent, the success of Australia's women's team and the increasingly slick WBBL has helped take the women's game to new heights in Australia; with a high-quality product on the oval and an increasingly attractive commercial, and popular, appeal off it.But the modern stars of the Aussie team and WBBL franchises are also the beneficiaries of a cultural re-shift in the last two decades, which began with a simple question: "Who plays cricket?"AdvertisementThey are standing on the shoulders of those who have came before, and who helped forge a world where more space than ever before is there for women to make their own.And at a time where sporting organisations all over the world are re-assessing their bottom lines - and how women's sport fits in that picture - Australian cricket is serving as a blueprint for the benefits of doubling down and investing even more in women's sport.Today she roams the halls of the Bradman Museum in Bowral in anonymity. But unknown to passers-by, museum executive director Rina Hore has a story to tell as fascinating as any display.Had it not been for her role as Vice-President of Women's Cricket Australia (WCA) 19 years earlier, the Australian women's cricket team may not found themselves dancing with Katy Perry as T20 world champions at a packed MCG on March 8, 2020."We all had a tear in our eye that night," says Hore, recounting Australia's win in the final. "At times it felt like we were shooting for the stars in all those meetings, so to see it come to life that night made it all worthwhile and more."AdvertisementThose meetings were the 18 months of back-and-forth between the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) and WCA in 2001 and 2003, following a decision of the then-Australian Sports Commission to fund men's and women's sports collectively, not separately."The ACB was funding us to the tune of about $250,000 at the time, and that allowed Women Cricket Australia to keep their rep program going, which was played in blocks of two weeks each January," Hore said."But our best players were still technically amateurs who had to work other jobs and negotiate with their work for time off to tour."While Hore says cricket was already proactive in moves towards gender integration, she admits it still took plenty of lobbying to secure a place for the women's game at the elite level."Initially there wasn't a lot of support to get it into high performance," Hore recalls."They were saying that its place was in game development, but we were very passionate about wanting to be in the high performance."AdvertisementIt was the role of leaders both on and off the field during this period which helped to ensure that the women's game would not be seen as side project, but rather an integral part of the sports landscape moving forward."The women really discovered they had been sitting outside the cricket network, so therefore we didn't really have good contacts or relationships," Hore said."That's where our president Dame Quentin Bryce was a godsend, she taught the women how to network and knew how to grow that side of the game."And then, when we were in trouble from an admin side. Belinda Clark and the team would go out and play fantastic cricket. Her, Mel Jones, Lisa Sthalekar, they were just world beaters."The women involved held a philosophy of "No Steps Backwards", and were firm in the necessity of a role in the then Australian Cricket Board for captain Belinda Clark in an off-field administration role. So too, the continued involvement of selectors and managers from the WCA.Their requests were met but Hore says that there were many other moments that showed a willingness to listen to female voices.Advertisement"When I was in charge of the under-23's team, the girls were size 10s and 12s and I was getting Matthew Hayden size 3XL [uniforms] for the opener, because he was the opener for the men's team," Hore said."Victoria player Sarah Elliott and I went to see [then-CEO of Cricket Australia] James Sutherland, and she said: 'Well, I train really hard and I'm proud of how fit I am, but when I put on the uniform I don't feel particularly good'."All we were asking for was female-cut clothing. And James got it. He had a light bulb moment, he listened."Integration with the ACB, which later led to the creation of Cricket Australia (CA) in 2003, opened up a flow of resources into women's cricket. Improved access to physios, coaches and quality grounds all contributed to a higher standard of play.The National Cricket Centre (then the Cricket Academy) began taking women's players and an almost immediate doubling in funding sparked the growth of the domestic competition.But the women involved did not stop there.Steph Beltrame, the Executive General Manger of CA, was inspired by the performances the Belinda Clark-era after she was appointed as the first media manager for a women's tour back in 2004."I was amazed at what they were doing," Beltrame said."They were doing jobs and rushing around to get to training and performing incredibly on tour. That was the inspiration for me to take that into business, and I thought, we could be doing more here."Since moving into the commercial side of the game in 2006, Beltrame has helped broker continually increased broadcast deals and commercial partnerships, all pushing the game further into the public spotlight.From a one-hour highlight package 15 years ago to 130 hours of live free to air coverage in 2019-20, including 36 WBBL games – the fourth-highest viewed league of all gender, men and women – and all Australian international games, the game continues to find more eyes.The WBBL has recorded over 300,000 viewers several times in this year's WBBL season, and got 320,000 for the first semi-final between the Stars and Scorchers on Wednesday. That was 30 per cent up on the same game last season and matches, or even tops, many games of the major footy codes.The Australian public are voting with their remotes and Beltrame says the corporate dollars are following."A lot of our partners will come to us now wanting to have access and association to the women's game," she said."For new partners Vodafone, Dettol and Cadbury this was a requirement. You can see every contract and partner now is building in a desire to have women's' cricket as part of their association. They don't just want men; they want to be across the sport."And that money goes back into the game to help the wheel turn. It goes into the grass roots, and the local facilities and schools' programs and makes the base of the sport so much stronger. That allows young players to choose cricket."The interest in women's cricket has been reflected in the continued investment of key partners. The Growing Cricket for Girls Fund, in conjunction with Commonwealth Bank, was the largest single investment in girl's participation in any sport in Australia.Since 2016, $15 million has enabled close to 2000 new all-girls teams to be created as total female participation is reportedly now more than 570,000 players (up 96 per cent since the 2014-15 season).This investment in junior levels, and pathways to the elite level with programs like the National Academy, has made cricket the most attractive option for prodigious talent and dual athletes like 19-year-old Annabel Sutherland, who also plays Australian football and was the recipient of a Cricket Australia national contract earlier this year."Cricket has a greater holistic view to make things work," Sutherland says."The underage programs, underage tours, and opportunities which are offered from a young age are hard to turn down. Footy are just starting to get those programs up and running but Cricket's had them up and running since I was a kid."The importance of these pathways is a sentiment reiterated by her national coach Matthew Mott."It's so exciting as a coach getting these 17- and 18-year-old players who are ready to go at an international level. The National Academy and WBBL have made our domestic players ready for that national stage. The professionalisation of the game and talent pathways have taken it to another level."Whether investment or performance comes first is a chicken and egg type scenario. Regardless of where the spark comes, the process goes as follows: money comes in, talent is developed, standard of play strengthens, interest in games grow, money comes in, talent increases … it's all part of a wheel.Cricket in Australia started spinning the wheel with integrated funding. While other leagues have been cutting investment to their women's competitions, CA has only increased its investment.On the back of the 2017 memorandum of understanding which increased player payments from $7.5 million to $55.2 million over five years – the largest pay increase in the history of women's sport in Australia – the organisation recently committed a further $1.3 million to increase retainers for domestic players over the next two years.There are still discrepancies. Pay is far from equal with male peers and the bottom-end domestic contract holders must still look for other income sources, but Cricket Australia is on the right track towards gender equal outcomes.But the equity is forming elsewhere, too. Now when the question of "who plays the game?" is asked, the mental picture is not just a group of boys, but girls as well."It might sound obvious in hindsight," says Sarah Styles, the former head of female engagement at CA. "But when you've had generations on generations being told men's cricket is the 'main game', with the women's game something else, that becomes deeply embedded in the culture of your sport, at all levels."It's hidden in every conversation, every decision. It's in your language, in the environments you work in, in the symbols that represent the game; all hinting that women were less important than men."So re-setting that, so those representing their country, irrespective of their gender, were seen as the peers they are, became an absolute priority during my time."While no longer involved with Cricket Australia, Styles sees that the systems she and her team helped put into place, building upon the work of those that came before them, will help to ensure that women continue to thrive in cricket."The key moving forward will be to not take progress for granted," she says."Leaders who fundamentally understand the importance and full potential of women's sport will always be required. Having (interim CEO) Nick [Hockley] leading CA is a good example of this – Nick is the one who fought tooth and nail to secure a standalone women's ICC T20 World Cup."He knows what is possible, and has been part of bringing that to life. Having directors like Mel Jones too, is priceless."It's bigger than any one person, which is why CA's 40/40/20 target for gender balanced management and boardrooms by 2022 must be achieved. The entire sport, not just the women's game, will be the better for it. And that holds true for all sports, not just cricket."Over the past two decades, cricket has provided the platform to prove the importance of culture in sports and shown that when governing bodies align their values with their finances, and walk the talk about their sport being for all, then the results are clear.Increased viewership. Increased participation. Increased standard of play. Increased revenue.Every time women cricketers take to the field; the game takes a step forward. The Melbourne Stars and the Sydney Thunder will contest the WBBL06 final in Sydney on Saturday.It will be one more confident stride, into space.Sports news, results and expert commentary delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up to the Herald's weekday newsletter and The Age's weekly newsletter .Log in, or to save articles for later. is a writer and former Sydney Swan

Thrive like a girl: Why women's cricket in Australia is setting the standardWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementLog in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeIn 1980, American writer Iris Marion Young published an essay entitled 'Throwing like a Girl'.In it, she rejected the idea that a "feminine essence" was the reason behind differences in throwing actions of some, not all, men and women.Young argued movements of women and girls were constricted by...

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Thrive like a girl: Why women's cricket in Australia is setting the standard

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