Day 51: striving to improve

 

One of the hardest things about following cricket is that a lot of the action takes place in time zones that don’t fit in with your schedule. The choice is to change your sleep pattern and go into work half asleep, or do you catch bits of it and hope for the best. You could not see any of the action but follow events unfold from trusted Twitter accounts.

That is the situation I’m in with the England tour of New Zealand. Had it taken place over this past week, I would have been able to watch every minute with it being half-term. Overall I can’t complain as I get five weeks off in the summer. In the past, that has allowed me to write about the Kia Super League.

It looks like 2021 will be a good year to write about women’s cricket around the day job. With most of the domestic games played over the weekends, there will be an excellent opportunity to cover a lot of different exciting games even if travel might be limited.

Being at the ground is the best way to be sure you get all of the action; you can concentrate on the aspects you think are important. Saying that having a good stream is a better option than not seeing any play at all.

In last years Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the regional sides upped the game by making the games visible, and most were streamed on YouTube. With no fans allowed into the grounds, it showed a significant investment.

It was a massive step up from the county games – which, to be fair, were usually played at grounds without decent WiFi – and a decent step up from Kia Super League games.

There are simple steps to get the game across to many more people. Sometimes we can be quick to complain about the lack of coverage for some events and sports. With the age of social media, we can, of course, do something about that. That is why I am so pleased to see websites and podcasts spring up covering and talking about women’s cricket in imparticular.

If you have a passion for something and have the time and the willingness to learn and put yourself out there, go for it. Even if no one reads or listens to what you have to say, that doesn’t mean your effort isn’t appreciated.

I know for one, I have to learn many skills to do this regularly, but like our heroes on the pitch, you have to put the effort in and practice.

So if you ever have any constructive feedback, it is always welcome. It is one of the most important aspects of improving.