THIS WIN IS GREAT FOR OUR GAME
CRICKET: WOMEN’S WORLD CUP England hero Anya says glory will reap rewards
ANYA SHRUBSOLE believes England’s dramatic Women’s World Cup triumph will prove to be a “watershed moment” for the sport.
Shrubsole was the star of the show at a sold-out Lord’s on Sunday as she tore through India’s lower order to grab a miraculous nine-run win.
Swing bowler Shrubsole took 6-46, including an amazing 5-11 in 19 balls, as India collapsed from a dominant 191-3 to 219 all out.
The worldwide TV audience was rumoured to be around 100m and Shrubsole believes the electric climax to a stunning tournament has finally put women’s cricket on the map.
“I think it’s a watershed moment,” she said. “The final was a really fitting tribute to the whole tournament, which has been brilliant from start to finish.
“We obviously set out to win but we also want to inspire women and girls to play cricket. Hopefully our win, and the way we have played, has done that.
Amazing
“It’s still pretty surreal, to be honest. It’s something that will take a couple of days to really sink in, but what an amazing day.
“You’ve always got to believe you can win no matter what the score and no matter what the game situation. We fought until the end and it came off.”
Her heroics came just two days after her father Ian posted a snap of his then nineyear-old daughter gazing across Lord’s in 2001 on Twitter, along with the caption: “What a place! I’d like to play here... for England... in a World Cup final.”
Her dad had been playing in a club cricket final and she added: “I remember the day, I remember watching him in that game. I don’t remember saying that but I guess it just shows that dreams can come true.”
England women’s cricket supremo Clare Connor is hoping Shrubsole’s heroics will persuade many more young girls to dream of playing top-level cricket.
She said: “What we have seen in this tournament is that teams are producing unbelievably talented cricketers who can ® entertain and can produce gripping sporting drama.
“But now we have to aim for a point where it as relevant to women and girls as it is to men and boys.
“The big question we have to ask is how do we normalise cricket for five-year-old girls, where they think it is just as normal for them to pick up a bat as it is for five-yearold boy?
“Once you connect those dots and engage families in the right way then we are getting there.”
The fact that the England squad of 15 shared a £512,000 bonus for winning the tournament could also help recruit women cricketers.
And Connor added: “We can’t let this opportunity go to waste. I expect an increase in commercial revenues and commercial relationships by virtue of this tournament.”