Previous Page (From
Skirts to Pink Balls - part 3)
From Skirts to Pink Balls (part 4)
At some point around 5 to 10 years ago I was walking
the boundary with a group of fellow supporters, mainly from Sussex.
Somehow the conversation came round to the question "who was the best
English player never to play for England?" Now that's something you
might expect half a dozen or so people to fall out about. At the very
least you might expect 6 people to have 6 opinions. If there was any
agreement then surely it would be a Sussex player, most of the group
being Sussex supporters.
Well none of these expectations were realised. There
was - very surprisingly - completely unanimous agreement. What were
the odds of that? And who was the player? Berkshire's
Yvonne Craven...
Berkshire's Yvonne Craven
On the previous page I mentioned
Drummoyne. I am unsure to this day if the 6
that Stafanie Taylor hit over the site screen at the lower end of the
ground is the furthest I have ever seen a women hit a cricket ball.
There is possibly one that may have edged it. In 2010 England
hosted the White Ferns with the 1st ODI being played at Taunton. New
Zealand opener Maria Fahey struck the ball towards the building that,
at that date, held the changing rooms. Now I believe it's a restaurant
but facilities around this ground seem to be permanently on the
change.
Maria Fahey batting in the 1st ODI at Taunton in 2010
I recall this clearly since I came close to being
struck by the ball - failing to pay attention... I was sitting
on the balcony and the ball struck the steelwork just below my feet -
quite a hit!
2009 showed, however, that women's cricket still wasn't on the
public's list of sports to follow. After such a fine year the public
voted in a TV poll for the England men as team of the year. I
typed somewhat
sarcastically on the blog about that fact as their season had been
nowhere near as successful as the women's had been.
I also recall choosing Danni Wyatt as my fielder of the year. I had
been able to watch little of her play up to that point - she was an
almost new face to me - and she has
later become one of my favourites fielding anywhere on the park but
frequently on the boundary rope. How does such a throw come from such
a slight figure?
Danni takes a low catch for Sussex in the County Championship in 2016
I also heard a curious statement during commentary in 2010.
Ian Bishop about Suzie Bates In the ICC T20 final "Well, she's hit the
ball further than I ever did?" Now I know he was known principally as
a bowler, but that seems a little over the top. Mark you, having
watched more of Suzie Bates in more recent times, maybe not...
In view of the upcoming World Cup this
series will be resumed at a later date - perhaps in the autumn.
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