Former Australia women's cricket captain Alex Blackwell represented her country in 251 international matches, with the team winning the World Cup and the Ashes under her captaincy. Since her retirement in late 2019, Blackwell has continued to be involved in the game as a board member, commentator and media spokesperson. She also works as a genetic counsellor in addition to her cricket-related roles.
In this lightly edited extract from her new book, Fair Game, she looks ahead to where she hopes cricket in Australia and the world at large will be in 20 years.
So I want to finish by imagining an ideal future for cricket. If I was suddenly transported 20 years into the future and was checking in on the state of the game, what would I hope to see? What does a cricket utopia look like?
It looks like a completely level playing field between men and women. There's no longer any sense that the men's game is of any higher priority or importance than the women's game. Men's cricket is no longer the default. The media coverage and public interest is split equally - and sometimes the women are ahead in this regard. Thanks to incredible marketing efforts and increased media coverage, sponsors have flocked to women's cricket, realising what a hot commodity it is and wanting their businesses to be associated with something so special.
All players in the Australian women's team are household names. The team is made up of women from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and they are equally adored and celebrated. The players feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to cricket - their differences and quirks are embraced and incorporated into the team culture. The Australian public loves them, not just for their amazing feats on the field but because they are interesting people with lives and passions away from sport who set a great example in so many different ways. Past women's players are held in equally high regard as their male counterparts and the history of the team is regularly celebrated by administrators and current players. Past female legends of our game are lead commentators in men's and women's cricket, not just for radio but also front and centre on our screens, with their naturally grey hair and sun-aged skin.
In boardrooms across the country I see equal numbers of men and women discussing the game and working to keep making improvements. Women can afford to commit to these roles because their time is valued as much as men's and they have been paid equally for many years now. I can see many past players among these board members, leading discussions through their knowledge, experience and passion. When they speak, everyone stops to listen and their opinions are respected and acted upon.
I can see women in leadership positions in the Cricket Australia headquarters too. Past players haven't been lost to the sport due to burnout, domestic players have degrees in a whole range of specialties after being supported to study during their careers. They're energised and excited to bring their unique skill sets to the organisation that supported them and continue to drive things forward for the next generation. The halls of our great stadiums are adorned with portraits of past players - male and female legends of the game appear side by side. Those past female players, the invisible giants of our game, are now recognised and celebrated regularly for the contributions they made to our sport against the tide. The rich history of gay women in cricket and their positive impact in the evolution of the women's game is spoken about openly and celebrated.
As I walk past the nets at the SCG prior to the New Year's Test I can see the Australian men's Test team being put through their paces by head coach Ellyse Perry. This group of young men are awed to be in her presence and have so much respect for this incredible cricketer they grew up watching dominate the domestic and international arenas. No one asks the players any questions about what it's like to have a female coach; it's no longer an anomaly or a novelty.
Looking around at the elite men's and women's teams across the country, I can see a diversity that truly reflects the Australian population. Players whose heritage lies in the cricket-loving South Asian nations are flourishing and the sport has also attracted many people with backgrounds that haven't been traditionally associated with cricket, such as Thailand and Sudan. In the media I see beautiful photos of the most recent Allan Border Medal winner celebrating with his husband and their daughter. They walked into the event with pride and were captioned correctly as husbands in every photo.
All over the world I can see our players proudly representing themselves and their country. Global tournaments for women have exploded and alongside the WBBL and the Hundred, the women's Indian Premier League has expanded rapidly and attracts talent from all over the world. The Caribbean Premier League also has a thriving women's competition, and the FairBreak Global tournament has become the key event in the calendar - this two-week invitational tournament has become the highest-paying T20 tournament for women in the world, and women from Associate cricket nations such as Botswana, Oman and China are stars of the show.
Recently retired women's international cricketers continue to make a great living from playing in short T20 tournaments all over the world. The television and live-stream coverage is excellent - of better standard than the men's because the women have been quicker to embrace the use of cutting-edge technology which has enhanced the viewer experience. This was a big step to achieving equality with the men's game, because more and more viewers tuned into women's cricket to witness the interaction with artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies. The success in the women's game convinced the men to be open to the opportunities as well and interest has risen across the board. There is all kinds of data available that helps fans understand the sport better - from the heart rate of a bowler in the death overs in a tight T20 match to the fatigue levels of a player batting out two full days of a Test. All games are accessible on demand for viewers everywhere.
Stepping back to the grassroots level, I can see that cricket has embraced all different forms of the game. Modified formats like indoor cricket and Last Man Stands (which was renamed to Last Player Stands, and not one single person kicked up a fuss, because gender-neutral language is just expected now) all fall under the Cricket Australia banner and it has helped the sport to thrive. Cricket is no longer just for those who have an entire weekend day available to play each week. Instead there are people taking part on weeknights, parents playing alongside their kids in social competitions, and competitive grassroots leagues that can be played with rubber cricket balls, encouraging more people to play, with fewer concerns about concussion and injuries.
I see mums coaching their sons' teams, boys and girls sharing training facilities equally and cheering each other on during matches. The diversity that is now present at the top levels of the game is visible here too. Cricket teams are made up of people from all different cultures and all walks of life, brought together by a love for the game.
The final of a Sydney women's social competition is held during a lunch break at the New Year's Test match at the SCG. The leaders of our game recognise that it's not just kids who will relish that opportunity and understand the importance of engaging adult women and the benefits that will come from these opportunities. Most importantly, community cricket is a space where people of all genders feel safe and welcome and everyone is able to play in a team that matches their gender identity without fear or anxiety.
There is a strong link between elite and grassroots cricket. Reduced training loads for professional players to foster better work-life balance have not only allowed players to gain qualifications and experience that prepare them for life after cricket, they have also given them more time to reconnect with their clubs. Community cricketers know the players who have come through the pathways they are a part of now and regularly go to games to support them. When professional players are introduced to the field - at the ground and on TV - they are identified by their club as a way to acknowledge that lifelong connection. Elite players take the time to attend club training sessions, where they can enjoy quality facilities and coaching in addition to giving back to the community that set them on the path to where they are today.
Premier cricket competitions across Australia are stronger than ever before. The number of teams in each grade has been reduced and club cricketers are playing alongside elite players during the regular mid-week matches held under lights. These matches are the highlight of training each week for elite players who are spending less time in the nets and more time playing matches. The club players are genuine team-mates with some of the best elite players in the country and they see a definite pathway to the next level.
Access to the best grounds is shared equally between the men's and women's teams and fixturing takes into consideration the opportunity for players to support other teams from their club and the WBBL and MBBL teams from their state. There are strong and definite pathways from junior cricket through to premier cricket for women and men, with shared high-performance hubs and facilities to build the connection. The ease of live streaming and the plethora of streaming services available means that grade competitions are now broadcast and the increased visibility leads to better sponsorship deals at this level. This allows for better facilities and more ability for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to participate without having to navigate a large financial barrier. The aspiration to reach the premier level has increased - particularly for women - and these reinvigorated competitions keep people engaged in the sport longer and make the elite levels stronger.
Even though things have changed significantly for the better, no one is letting their guard down. They recognise how easily things can slip back into the status quo and they keep on working to make sure the doors open even wider and let more people in.
This all feels like a distant dream, but 20 years is a long time. Who would have imagined 20 years ago, when my elite cricket career was just getting started, that we would have reached the great heights we have now? I experienced so much positive change throughout my two decades in the sport and I know what is possible.
In the future, I hope I'm sitting down to read a book by my former Sydney Thunder teammate Phoebe Litchfield - who was 20 years my junior when we first formed a match-winning partnership together - charting the amazing changes she has experienced since her debut. I hope her story describes something like I have imagined in this chapter, but who knows? It could be even better.
Reproduced with permission from Fair Game by Alex Blackwell (with Megan Maurice), Hachette Australia, 2022
Link:
- Pagani's New Utopia Is an Ode to Old-School Hypercars With a V-12 and Manual Transmission - Yahoo Canada Shine On - April 20th, 2024 [April 20th, 2024]
- Book Review: Tripping on Utopia, by Benjamin Breen - The New York Times - January 30th, 2024 [January 30th, 2024]
- Cynthia Erivo's Stark New Film Is Already More Relevant Than She ... - Vanity Fair - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- Why Travis Scott's Utopia is the Album of the Year - Hamilton County Reporter - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- Vampire Empire and the Toxicity of Leak Culture - 34th Street Magazine - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- Artist Melissa Joseph Uses an Unsung MediumFeltto Explore ... - Cultured Magazine - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- Customizable Bathroom Fittings With Re-Purposed and Crystal ... - ArchDaily - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- The grouse, the gamekeepers and the ethics of the shoot - Financial Times - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- I sort of flippantly say: 'All guitars sound the same and go for ... - Guitar World - October 18th, 2023 [October 18th, 2023]
- How MJM Marine is helping to create a cruise utopia - Cruise and Ferry - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- Everything You Need to Know About the Solar Eclipse in Central ... - Austin Monthly - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- Explore Programming for the Inaugural SXSW Sydney: Oct 15-22 - sxsw.com - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- The Daily Heller: The Art of Invented Scripts, Meaning Optional - PRINT Magazine - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- Andrea Branzi, visionary architect and designer, 19382023 - ArtReview - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- Female hotel manager handed a 33 per cent pay cut during Covid ... - People Management Magazine - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- NAPALM DEATH's SHANE EMBURY Talks New Book And Life In ... - BLABBERMOUTH.NET - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- A Step-by-Step Guide To British Airways' 49-Year Livery Evolution - Simple Flying - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- How Constructed Languages Help People Find Community - The New York Times - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- Royal Caribbean Wows Cruisers With Short Beach Cruise Vacations - Wealth Of Geeks - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- The Graham and Brown wallpaper of the year 2024 is revealed - Ideal Home - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Museum Curators Evaluate A.I. Threat by Giving It the Reins - The New York Times - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- The Media Store: Does the growth of AI signal utopia or dystopia for ... - Marketing magazine Australia - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- MIPCOM Cannes to host world premiere screening of Concordia - Prensario Internacional - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- The Best New Cruise Ships Coming in 2024 - Cruise Critic - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Bioshock: 10 Pieces of Important Lore New Players Need to Know - CBR - Comic Book Resources - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- 8 Best Bagels in New York City - Eat This, Not That - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Luxon doubles down on bed tax opposition | Crux - Local News ... - Crux News - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Indie Film: Midcoast film festival keeps building on an impressive ... - Press Herald - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Dangerous visions: How the quest for utopia could lead to catastrophe - Salon - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- Travis Scott Spends the Day in NYC Amid the Release of His New ... - Just Jared - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- The 5 Best New TV Shows of July 2023 - TIME - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- The influence of Kanye West's 'Yeezus' is clear as day on Travis ... - Yahoo Lifestyle UK - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- How Utopia shaped the world - BBC Culture - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Dystopia - Wikipedia - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- 17th Amendment Weakened Balance of Power Between States, Federal Government - Heritage.org - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Games Of Thrones EP Frank Doelger To Helm Surveillance Thriller Series Concordia For ZDF, MBC, France Tlvisions and Hulu Japan - Deadline - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- How Mao's Cultural Revolution Made War On The Private Mind - The Federalist - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Russian musical instrument that infiltrated pop culture and aided espionage - Far Out Magazine - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Handmaid's Tale: What Is New Bethlehem? Map & Theories - Post Apocalyptic Media - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Wrtsil Oyj : Five ways the Wrtsil 46TS-DF helps you decarbonise now and in the future - Marketscreener.com - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Ditching tech is the new tech fad - Rest of World - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Martin Scorsese feels that box office obsession is "insulting" to cinema - Yahoo Entertainment - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- X-Men Monday #175 - X Me Anything With the X-Office AIPT - AIPT - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Difference Between A Supercar And A Hypercar - SlashGear - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The Spanish government reactivates the tunnel project to link Morocco with Spain - Atalayar - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Why the Wing, a once buzzy womens coworking startup, shut down - Fortune - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- World's first zero-energy cruise terminal to be opened at Port of Galveston - Offshore Energy - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Letters to the editor: On baroclinic instability - Las Cruces Sun-News - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Why autumn is the new glamping season | Travel | The Sunday Times - The Times - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- The East Is ... White? Xi Jinping Is A Cracker? - The American Conservative - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Winter Wonderland Vacations- Places You Have To Visit This Year - msnNOW - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- A new series immerses us in Russias 90s trauma and the human cost of economic shock - The Guardian - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Why the communal utopia was hard work for its children - Aeon - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The Best and Coolest New Gadgets of September 2022 - Gear Patrol - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Here's a list of pumpkin patches in and around Austin - Austin American-Statesman - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- As time for meaningless jobs comes to an end, reinvent to stay relevant - The New Indian Express - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Layered subsurface in Utopia Basin of Mars revealed by Zhurong rover radar - Nature.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Conductor is in trouble with his name, and his no-names - Slippedisc - Slipped Disc - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Deepak Chopra & Seva.Love Announce "ChopraVerse: House of Enlightenment," the Metaverse for Wellbeing in Collaboration with Utopia -... - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- New this week: 'Reasonable Doubt,' 'Blonde' and Bjrk - Star Tribune - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- New movie releases this weekend - ABC4.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Utopia In The Desert - Cowboys and Indians Magazine - Cowboys & Indians Magazine - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Fascism from Italy to Hibbing and back again - Minnesota Reformer - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- EDITORIAL: Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal a proper model of justice | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis - - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Nexi S p A : September 26th 2022 Nexi and Global Blue sign a strategic partnership to provide frictionless omnichannel payment experience for the... - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Pagani thumbs its nose at electrification, unveiling all-new V12 Utopia - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- Paganis New Utopia Is an Ode to Old-School Hypercars With a V-12 and Manual Transmission - Robb Report - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- Whats That Shiny New Marketing Toy Youve Got There? || Googles Out Of Home Ads - Legal Talk Network - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- The future of New England Republicanism is... - POLITICO - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- Disney continues to botch their animated classics with Pinocchio - Shield - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- Inside the Experimental Town That King Charles III Created - VICE - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- Ian Cheng imagines a world where the internet inhabits our nervous systems - Dazed - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- The aura of Shakers, the influencers of good design - Domus - September 15th, 2022 [September 15th, 2022]
- Utopia Revisited: Residents Reunite to Share Stories of 12th Street Childhood - Jewish Exponent - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- 'Wonder' Playlist: The sounds that inspired our new issue - RUSSH - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- "This Building Belongs to the People": Cape Verde's New Centre for Art, Crafts and Design - ArchDaily - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Bjrk Parties at a Mushroom Rave in Video for New Song Atopos: Watch - Pitchfork - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- The girlbosses who girlbossed too close to the sun: The demise of womens utopia The Wing was long overdue - The Independent - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Technology Is the Only Thing That Can Potentially Save Us: A Conversation with Brad DeLong - Observer - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]
- Cant We Come Up with Something Better Than Liberal Democracy? - The New Yorker - September 7th, 2022 [September 7th, 2022]