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There has been a huge momentum shift in women's sport and Saturday's T20 double-header is another breakthrough moment

England women are going from strength to strength - PA
England women are going from strength to strength - PA

I’m really looking forward to Saturday. Sky are doing a wonderful job of encouraging more people to watch, attend and participate in women’s sport. The #ShowUp campaign - with women’s cricket taking over the Sky Cricket channel for the day - is a really important part of that.

There’s been a huge momentum shift across all women’s sport since the 2012 Olympics with Jessica Ennis-Hill being the face of the London Games. But it hasn’t just been about individual sports. Team sports have had seminal moments of their own along the way - hockey during the Rio Olympics, netball at the Commonwealth Games this year. And then of course the England women’s cricket team last year winning the World Cup final at Lord’s in front of a sell-out crowd - and 180 million watching around the world. These key moments need to be capitalised on as so many have been inspired - and crucially, not just young girls but young boys too.

Visibility was vital to capturing the nation’s attention during those moments and so it is crucial that continues. Soon after the World Cup, the public got a chance to see the England stars again during the Kia Super League. Sky have shown every women’s game this summer, and have partnered with the Women’s Sports Trust for the #ShowUp campaign to encourage more visibility and participation across all women’s sports. 

What hockey did so well after Rio was to open up all their hockey clubs to those young kids who were inspired by what the women achieved in the final and importantly, in cricket, the ECB have looked to do the same by using various initiatives. Already we have seen an increase in participation numbers for All Stars Cricket and women’s softball.

Interestingly, for women’s softball, the ages range from eight-year-old kids starting out in the game to the older generation of 50-plus-year-olds. In this modern age, where people’s attention spans have shortened, it is imperative to keep feeding people’s appetite through offering a number of different ways to get involved and championing our great teams so they can be inspired.

England netball - Credit: getty images
England's netballers made history at the Commonwealth Games Credit: getty images

And the women did not disappoint in the T20 double-header on Wednesday. New Zealand set a new record T20I score - which England then broke in the same day, scoring 250. We are going to see more records broken with the change in fielding regulations whereby only four players are allowed outside of the inner circle rather than five. It essentially means less protection for the bowlers. In addition, and like the men, players are hitting it harder than ever before, coupled with no fear of failure and players finding different ways to score around the ground.

Batters have gone to another level, and bowlers have had to up-skill as a result. There aren’t many mystery spinners in the women’s game and I’d love to see a greater depth of fast bowlers come through, bowling upwards of 75mph. Tactical elements such as wide yorkers and using different angles at the crease have become even more important, as well as variations, so this is the challenge set to the next generation of women’s bowlers. I think ball sizes also need to be looked at. The Kookaburra ball has a greater variation in diameter than the men’s ball. At times it can be the same size as a men’s Kookaburra, and with smaller hands it is important to get it right to allow for more control and the ability to use wrists and fingers to get get more revolutions on the ball, or try different tricks such as the ‘knuckle ball’.

On Wednesday, Anya Shrubsole showed what was possible for bowlers if have the skills to get the ball moving early. On a day when 466 was scored collectively in 40 overs, she went for just eight runs in four overs and that was brought about by an excellent seam position and pronounced in-swing.

Danni Wyatt - Credit: getty images
Danni Wyatt has cemented his place at the top of the order Credit: getty images

For England women, they’re still finding out what their best team is ahead of the World Twenty20 in November, but there’s a lot to like about the depth of the squad and those roles are starting to become more defined. Danni Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont, in my opinion, have now cemented their spots as a dynamic opening pair. Add to that world-class opening bowlers and spinners, and a couple of high quality all-rounders, they are definitely a side that can go all the way. Their biggest change has been their power-hitting ability. I remember during the 2012 World Twenty20, in Bangladesh, sides were way ahead of England in terms of six-hitting prowess. Mark Robinson and Ali Maiden, the head coach and assistant coach, have worked closely with the women to improve their confidence in this area to the point where the top seven can all clear the ropes with ease.

While I think England can win, defending champions West Indies are playing on home soil, and New Zealand have had the best T20 record in recent years. However, the favourites will be Australia purely because of the squad they have and how they back themselves in knockout games. In a semi-final or final, they always seem to find a way and have that belief and confidence that they can do it, having taken the title three times.

To make sure these teams don’t pull away from the pack, what is required on the global stage is more international matches. Especially as more teams become professional, the women don’t want to spend the majority of the calendar year training - they want to be playing against the best opposition so they can learn. Kudos to South Africa for hosting Bangladesh in a T20 series recently. Bangladesh lost 3-0 but obviously took a lot from it as they went on to win the Asia Cup, beating India and Pakistan for the first time in the process. I personally cannot wait to see what the future holds for women’s cricket and women’s sport as a whole.

Isa Guha is an ambassador of the #ShowUp campaign. Sky Sports and the Women’s Sport Trust are asking you to take to social media and let us know how you are going to show up for England Women’s Cricket this summer. #ShowUp @SkySports @WomenSportTrust