Mitchell: ODI points system – the girls got there first!
Alison Mitchell recounts the many examples of forward-thinking in the women’s game that have been adopted by the men
The idea for the future of ODIs, like that of the Test Championship, is to provide context for each and every bilateral series with points at stake for each match.
Thirteen countries would play each other home or away over the course of a three-year period, in series consisting of a minimum of three one-day internationals. Most importantly, a 13-team ODI league would provide regular high-level matches for the countries outside of the Test-playing nations.
The likes of Ireland and Afghanistan would expect to be involved – nations who have long argued the need for greater exposure to top-level cricket in order to improve standards.
To followers of the women’s game, this format looks familiar. The ICC introduced a Women’s ODI Championship in 2014 to provide global context and ensure all the top eight countries play each other, regardless of their traditional status in the game.
Prior to the Championship, Australia and England, for example, had only ever played four ODIs each against Pakistan in their history.
Crucially, the Championship forms a pathway to qualification for the Women’s World Cup of 2017, meaning that every series carries a significance previously missing.
At the end of the three-year cycle, the top four teams will earn a place in the tournament, held in England next summer, while the bottom four drop into a further qualification tournament alongside a group of regional qualifiers.
It is a system which doesn’t guarantee the presence of Australia, England and India at the game’s biggest global tournament, rather it requires they earn their place, with all other countries, including those in the tier below, afforded an equal opportunity to usurp them.
Furthermore, if countries want to arrange more than three ODIs between themselves they can, but only the first three games of the series will count towards the league table.
Why not this for the men’s game? One suggestion is that at the end of the proposed men’s ODI league, the top two teams would play-off to be overall ODI champions.
A far more compelling case would be for the league to double up as qualification for the 50-over World Cup. It may be too soon for 2019, but it could be put in place for 2023.
It would not be the first time an innovation from the women’s game has been taken up by the men’s.
Most recently, the multi-format points system, which was introduced for the women’s Ashes 2013, has been adopted for England men’s summer series against both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It was the brainchild of ECB director of Women’s Cricket and chair of the ICC women’s committee, Clare Connor.
Throughout history there are several other examples of the men’s game following the women’s lead.
The first ever cricket World Cup was not a men’s tournament, but a women’s. It was conceived by the businessman, philanthropist and former life president of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Sir Jack Hayward.
It was staged in 1973, two years before the first men’s competition.
Hayward cooked up the idea of a women’s World Cup with the England captain of the time, Rachael Heyhoe-Flint. I recall talking to her a few of years ago about how the World Cup came about.
Referring to Hayward, who bankrolled the event, she remarked in typically witty fashion:“He liked cricket and he liked women. It was a good fit!”
At the time, the women’s game was run by the International Womens’ Cricket Council. The IWCC continued to administer women’s international cricket and run World Cups until after the South Africa World Cup of 2005, when the organisation formally merged with the ICC.
In 2003, T20 cricket was brought in to rejuvenate English county cricket. By December, the ECB, with Gill McConway as executive director for women’s cricket, announced that the first ever T20 international would be played the following summer between England and New Zealand’s women at Hove.
Going right back to the early 19th century, it was by copying a woman that men first bowled overarm. Christina Willes was the sister of John Willes, who played for Kent and England.
Legend has it that instead of bowling underarm, which was the norm at the time, Christina used to bowl roundarm to her brother to avoid getting her arm tangled up in her voluminous skirts of the era. John then tried bowling roundarm for himself in a match at Lord’s in 1822. He was no-balled and galloped off on his horse in a huff.
The first recorded overarm delivery with a player raising his hand above their head is thought to have been bowled in 1862 by Edgar Willsher, for England against Surrey at the Oval. He, too, was no-balled and it was a further two years before the delivery became legal.
It can sometimes take a long time for new ideas to be implemented in cricket.
When it comes to the men’s game in England and Wales, layers of administration and the interests of the counties all need to be taken into account. The traditions and steadfast following of the men’s game means significant change, such as the idea of franchise T20, is frequently viewed with suspicion or simply blocked.
This is where the women’s game has a huge advantage.Without the weight of tradition that the men’s game has, the ICC and its stakeholders have been able to work with a blank sheet of paper when it comes to mapping out the way forward for the women.
It has led to the introduction of the multi-format points system, the ODI Championship and now, from the ECB, the swift advent of this summer’s Kia Super League T20 featuring six brand new host teams spread around the country showcasing England, England Academy and international stars.
The ECB has been debating a more focused T20 men’s competition for some time.
If the Super League teams forge strong brand identities and build healthy fan bases, who’s to say the next big thing to happen in men’s domestic cricket wouldn’t be the formation of men’s Loughborough Lightning, Lancashire Thunder and Southern Vipers teams?
The multi-format points system, introduced for the women’s Ashes in 2013, has been adopted for England men’s series against Sri lanka and Pakistan this summer