2010 Diary

A Ramble on Women's Cricket
 - with diversions -

This diary will be updated periodically throughout the year.

2010 Page 2
Heard and over-heard in 2010:
  • Ian Bishop about Suzie Bates In the ICC T20 final "Well, she's hit the ball further than I ever did?"

  • A similar remark was made by Mark Butcher to Nick Knight during Sky commentary of the T20 series between England and New Zealand. I find it hard to believe that neither of them could hit a long six!

  • Remark from an England player who had sat for many overs waiting to go in and never making it "I'm suffering from pad rash!"

  • Remark from a spectator at an international "Why wasn't this fixture listed in the County Programme? I only heard about it on local radio" - Why indeed?

The Best of the Best:

  • Catch of the Year: I have three choices for you. Firstly Aimee Watkins catch off the last ball of the Australian innings in the ICC T20, reaching further than her height ever suggested she could and catching the ball one handed after it had apparently passed her. Second is Caroline Atkins sliding forwards catch in the final match of the County Championship against Kent where the timing was crucial, and thirdly Sarah Taylor's leg side dismissal of Charlotte Edwards in the early rounds of the County T20. I think Sarah's just has it because of the fantastic anticipation and enormous distance she covered in a split second to take it full length as cleanly as if it had been a give away. The Kent captain must have been thinking "four runs" the second the ball left the bat.

  • Most exciting Innings: For me it must be Lydia Greenway batting in steady rain at Derby. When Nicola Brown was put on to bowl we all knew what was coming from the bowler - short pitched and clear of off stump. What we didn't know was how Lydia would respond. The pull shots she played, bisecting two fielders on the mid-wicket boundary on several occasions were quite magnificent. They would have been remarkable enough in fine weather and good light, but under floodlights in steady rain it is definitively my choice for 'most exciting innings to watch'. Her 45* of just 46 balls was a match winner and just went to prove that it's not always the three figure scores that really count.

Lydia finds that boundary again in rather better weather in a match against
Bedford School, during the warm-ups to the 2010 home series.

  • Fielder of the Year: Yes, I know you can't compare a good slip fielder with a boundary rider but to me the find of the year was young Danni Wyatt who I have already raved about earlier. Perhaps I say 'find' because Sussex have not played against her and nor have the club team I follow, so I have only occasionally, and some years ago, seen her play. But as I have mentioned earlier in this ramble, to watch her on the boundary was a revelation to me, and that's all the more remarkable since we have in Lydia Greenway and Jenny Gunn two of the best in the business. All too often those in the outfield get forgotten - it can be a little like keepers in that you notice them only when things go wrong. You take it for granted when pick-ups and throws are perfect. If I'm right you can safely ignore her - I doubt things will go wrong very often!

Danni Wyatt bowling in the same warm-up game v Bedford School

The Ramble Continues in 2011