We have often heard fans talking highly about Test cricket. Cricket enthusiasts watch every single ball of the 5-day test and call it meditation but there is a limit to it. It is only restricted to men’s cricket. Even after gaining popularity in recent times, women’s cricket is far from the stage where they are given enough chances to play it. Let’s learn more about it.
What is Women’s Test Cricket?
The longest format of women’s cricket is women’s Test cricket, which is the female version of men’s Test cricket. Between two of the top cricketing nations, matches consist of four innings and last up to four days. The regulations regulating the format are not much different from those for the men’s game; the main distinctions are usually in the details of umpiring and field dimensions.
In December 1934, England women and Australia women played the first women’s Test match, a three-day encounter that England won by nine wickets. There have been 141 women’s test matches played in all. Women’s One Day Internationals and Women’s Twenty20 Internationals dominate the international schedule each year, drawing far fewer spectators than the longer versions of the game.
What are the differences between Men’s and Women’s Test Cricket?
GAME DURATION
The number of days played in men’s and women’s Test cricket differs most noticeably. A women’s Test match can go up to four days, compared to a men’s Test match’s maximum duration of five days. A modification in the daily number of required overs results from this. At least 90 overs are anticipated to be bowled throughout each day of play in a five-day men’s Test match. However, teams must bowl at least 100 overs every day in four-day women’s tests.
PLAY AREA
The minimum distance for a women’s Test match is 55 metres, while the maximum distance is 64 metres. For men’s Test cricket, these distances are changed to 59 and 82 metres, respectively. In all forms of women’s cricket, the playing area is the same, just like the cricket ball’s weight.
FOLLOW ON RULE
A minimum of 150 runs are required to force the follow-on in a women’s Test, compared to a minimum of 200 runs in a men’s Test, which is played over five days.
How many countries play Women’s Test Cricket?
Ten national women’s cricket teams have participated in Test cricket overall. The first three sides were formed as a result of the England team’s tour of Australia and New Zealand in the 1934–35 season, and each of those three teams has participated in at least 45 Test cricket matches. The next team to compete in the format was South Africa, which played their first game in 1960. However, they have only participated in twelve Test matches, which is fewer than India (37), in part because of their exclusion from the international sport as a result of their country’s apartheid policy. Less than five Test matches have been played by Pakistan, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka, four teams.
Why Women’s Test Cricket is not given much importance?
There are very many factors that affect why women’s test cricket is not played much or given importance. The boards are to be held responsible along with fans who take very little interest in the women’s format of the sport.
There is already a lot of cricket being played in the more popular men’s version and it seems like a burden to watch women’s games where the broadcasting is not at par. The games are played list List A or First Class Cricket. Unlike men’s version, they are not played as a festival and fancy.
Women play cricket using a point system. The Test’s high weighting in the points system is one of its drawbacks. The players are aware that it is challenging to get back the series after a loss. That may result in overly cautious play and perhaps dull cricket.
In recent years though more effort have been into Women’s cricket but most of them have been by English and Australian Boards who hold Ashes every 2 years. Only 30 women’s Test matches were played between 2000 and June 2021, with 14 of those being Ashes Tests between Australia and England.
As of now, England Women are playing against South Africa Women in a historic series. It will be great if more of us take interest in it or keep up with the scores.
