Day 56: Do the men support the women?

There was a moment when I was at the Women's World Cup 2017 semi-final when I nearly bumped into Mitchel Starc. Australia had just taken an early wicket. I hadn't made my seat by then, and as I turned to go and find somewhere to make camp for the day, there was the tall Australian fast bowler.

I was reminded of it today as Rory Burns reacted to one of Alex Hartley's tweets. Hartley's tweet said, "Nice of the England boys to get this test match finished just before England Women play tonight."

Anyone who knows Hartley will realise that it was meant to promote the women's game; there was no disrespect towards the men. It was light-hearted and consistent with the wit that Hartley offers.

It made Rory Burns reply all the more strange. He replied, "Very disappointing attitude considering all the "boys" do to support the Women's game."

Which made me wonder what support exactly Rory? It isn't exactly turning up at games and offering support from the ground. There are seldom and vocal support on social media. So what support do the men offer?

If you look at it in terms of financial support, then, of course, the England men's team brings in revenue. Bums on seats at test matches bring in a lot of income. Not as much as the Sky Sports money, though. Which, of course, is a package that includes women's match.

The ECB's commitment to make the Hundred an equal tournament for both the men and women is commendable. The prize money is the same, and there will be more of a presence of the women's game in front of the television cameras.

It is why I remember the Starc incident; it may have helped that he is married to one of the star women's players in Alyssa Healy. You feel that even if this wasn't the case that the men's and women's teams have a closer bond in supporting each other. Years of the WBBL and BBL hosting doubleheaders and being part of the same franchise system can only be of benefit.

In 2016 West Indies won both the men's and women's World T20 on the same day. Both teams celebrated together that victory. It was a great scene, one that will live long in the memory.

There has never been a 'us or them' attitude with Australia or the West Indies; we all play for the same team and celebrate the successes and losses together.

Which makes Burns' claims bizarre; I have never seen that same level of support. It could just be an ill-advised comment in the frustration of defeat.

The quotation marks around the word boys suggest a misunderstanding of the context that Hartley was using. The language used to describe the women's game has been derogatory for years, and for the keyboard, trolls are still evident.

There is still a long way to go for the women's game to get the acceptance it deserves. If Burns and the rest of the men's game really support the women's game, they aren't doing a good enough job of getting the message across.

There are easy steps to change that. A good luck message to international and county colleges wouldn't go a miss at the least. At this year's Hundred competition, they could get along and earlier and support from the ground.

Even when they finish playing, they could get valuable experience coaching, even if Graeme Swann is opposed to that idea.