Australia lead charge at Women’s World Twenty20

BANGALORE: It’s hard to look beyond Australia and New Zealand for the title as the Women’s World T20 begins on Tuesday (today) featuring ten teams, eight venues and 23 matches.

Australia, sniffing their fourth successive Women’s World T20 trophy, seem to be the frontrunners. The Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) can take some credit for that: the success of the competition in its first year has added plenty of sheen to Australia’s game. Despite Australia breaking new ground domestically, though, they have lost their last three T20I series, the most recent of which came against New Zealand earlier this month. Factor in the loss of Grace Harris - one of the most exciting talents - and you begin to look at the team and wonder who beyond Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry you would file in the “match-winner” category. Then again, you might say the same thing about New Zealand with Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine. The two teams square off in Nagpur on March 21 and it’s hard not to think back to the men’s 2015 World Cup, when New Zealand beat Australia in the group stages, before Australia exacted revenge in the final. England, sitting in Group B, will be the match-up they’d want to save for the final.

What’s an international tournament without a dark horse? If there’s a side that has shown the best on-field return on investment in women’s cricket recently, it’s South Africa. October 2013 marked a key moment in their history, as they joined England, Australia, West Indies and Pakistan in offering central contracts to their players. The following year, they made the semi-final of the 2014 World T20, which in hindsight might have been a jump too far as they were blown away by England. But, two years on, they have notched their first T20I win over England, along with their first ever T20I series win over West Indies. Theirs is a team mixing youth, experience and the sort of on-field buzz that sees them capable of defending low scores. The issue with this particular call is that they share Group A with New Zealand and Australia. And while they lack depth beyond their first XI, this is the first time Mignon du Preez has been able to have such a well-rounded attack. It is spearheaded by Shabnim Ismail who, in her ninth year of international cricket, has developed a full set of skills to counter some of the best batsmen in the world.

If you’re keen for a home favourite, then look no further than Smriti Mandhana, a 19-year-old left-hand batsman who can unfurl the sort of square drives that will have you falling in love all over again. Then there is her team-mate Deepti Sharma, an 18-year-old offspinner who had spent the last few weeks tying Sri Lanka in knots.

South Africa’s Dane van Niekerk has been around since 2009, but it has only been in the last three years that she has enjoyed sustained success with both bat and ball. Australia’s Jess Jonassen is up there with Mandhana as the most watchable left-handers in the game, while compatriot Lauren Cheatle, just 17, is an exciting left-arm quick who took 18 WBBL wickets at 19.72. West Indies’ Hayley Matthews — also 17 — is another fascinating all-round prospect. Away from your usual suspects, Cath Dalton of Ireland is an interesting case. A former England academy player, Dalton switched allegiances to Ireland to further her international career. While she had looked to make her way as a fast bowling allrounder, it is her batting which has become her strongest suit.

An issue that continues to blight women’s cricket. It feels like in the last year playing surfaces have come under more intense scrutiny; pitch curators have been sacked, tosses scrapped, soils imported and heated words exchanged over 22-yards of dirt track. We ask a lot of our groundsmen and women with the sheer volume of cricket in the calendar, but it’s hard not to look at the pitches produced in Nagpur last week for the men’s first round of games and worry what might be in store for the women, who often get the short shrift when it comes to pitch rotation. It’s a shame really: the lower bounce and tackier surface that is prepared - or rather, underprepared — for many women’s fixtures rob us and them of their recently developed skills, such as hitting big down the ground and fizzing one past the ears. Good pitches will give these players the confidence to show just how expansive they can be.

For the third competition in a row, the prize money on offer in the women’s competition has increased. The figure this time around is US $400,000 overall, an increase of 22% from 2014’s figure of $328,000. In 2009 and 2010, that collective sum was only $45,000 with a small increase to $60,000 for 2012. This year’s winners will pocket $70,000 of the kitty, with the runners-up netting $30,000. Losing semi-finalists walk away with $15,000, while a group win is sweetened by $2,500. These figures pale in comparison to what’s on offer in the men’s competition: a collective $5.6 million, split into $1,100,000 for the winners, $550,000 for runners-up, $275,000 for semi-finalists and $40,000 for a group win.