Day 73: South Africa are looking to move to the next level

 Sometimes you are better off disregarding the ICC ODI rankings; they are complicated and can fudge who the best teams are. I think right now, it would be difficult to disagree with them. Australia are top by a decent margin, and then there is England, South Africa battling it out for the second spot. New Zealand and West Indies trail some way behind them.

South Africa have out of the top ten teams to have played the most games. It is their regular schedule that has helped their players form a tight-knit squad.

They have won a series in India with a game to spare and missing key players in their line-up, including Dane van Niekerk and her replacement Sunne Luus. The only other side to come away from India with a series is Australia.

Laura Wolvaardt continues to impress, and with the added burden of captaincy in the last two games has lead from the front.

All the top four of South Africa’s passed fifty today, with Lara Goodall (59*) and Mignon du Preez (61) built on Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee’s 119 runs first-wicket partnership. It was an imposing target for South Africa, and many teams may have crumbled under the pressure of maintaining the chase.

When you consider Luus and Van Niekerk are to comeback into the batting line-up, South Africa can become a real force in international cricket. They should be targeting at least the semi-final at every major tournament from now on.

They can’t be that far off reaching a final. In their previous semi-finals, England at Bristol 2017 and Australia at the SCG in 2020, they narrowly missed out to the eventual winners on both occasions.

With that experience behind them, they will go into 2022 confident that they can bring back a piece of silverware somewhere.

As for India is where do they go from here? Do they need to ask some of the players they recently discarded to come back? Maybe. What perhaps they need to do is learn from the international sides ahead of them.

A women’s IPL is a must, a strong domestic structure and given all the support it can to thrive is also a given. India’s national team also needs to play more matches, not just in India but worldwide. If they are invited by any other side to play, they should take it.

It would be a shame if India could not build on their recent success in reaching two World Cup finals, not because they haven’t got the players, but because they weren’t given a chance to build on some firm foundations.

Day 72: Trip to Northampton saw Duckett at top of game

 I have only ever been to Northampton once. It was at the start of the 2016 season. Northampton, I would guess, is a better place to access by road than by any other form of transport. It was how I got there with a friend. Some train routes included a journey to Coventry.

It was a glorious April day, and on the way down, it was a reasonable assumption that play would start on time. Once in the ground, it was a different story; sheets of ice had been removed from the outfield, and play would be delayed. It was a game where rain would wash away the final two days, so it didn't matter in the greater scheme of things.

With any new season, there is always a sense of optimism. For Sussex fans that started to fade on day one. It should have been a day to welcome George Garton to Championship cricket, and Danny Briggs had moved from Hampshire with something to prove in the red ball game. Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, also made his Sussex Championship debut for Sussex in the match, although he would not get the opportunity to bat.

Ben Duckett stole the show for the home side as he started to go about amassing a mammoth 282 not out over the course of the two days of play. Duckett is a player that many feel has not gone on to fulfil his potential throughout his career. It is a real shame, as Duckett proved throughout that innings, he has the ability.

A bowling attack for Sussex that included Steve Magoffin, Ollie Robinson, Garton and Ajmal Shahzad should never be easy to score against early in the season. With Sussex happy to bowl first, that was the expectation.

Duckett, in that innings, was helped along the way with the help of opening partner Jake Libby (42) – a player he would play alongside at Notts- and Alex Wakely (51), his Northants skipper.

Duckett's standout performance was in a year when there was a call for a young opening batsman to prove they were worthy of an England squad.

Unfortunately for Duckett, his career has been plagued by off-field incidents such as the one that saw him sent home from Australia in an incident that James Anderson described as "a bit of a non-event" at the time.

There is no doubting Duckett can play, and if he knuckles down at Trent Bridge this summer, he might finally be able to put some of his previous behaviour behind him. He isn't the only player with a reputation at Notts, and together they will look to put their ability on the pitch to the forefront.

Day 71: Morgan's men giving it their best shot

It was a good day for England. They won the first T20 of their series with India. It was a performance that makes the number one ranked side in the format one of the favourites for the next T20 World Cup scheduled for October and November this year.

I don't think you will find anyone in the England camp to admit it publicly. It will take something special for anyone to break into this squad, which sounds like bad news for Alex Hales. The Nottinghamshire opener lost the senior players' trust in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup and has been trying to regain his place ever since.

Hales's problem is that Jason Roy is just as effective at the top of the order on his day. With England also opening the batting with Jos Buttler, spaces are at a premium. England could even bat Jonny Bairstow in that place as well.

It was a welcome return of form for Bairstow today after his red-ball struggles. With the game as good as won by the time the Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman came to the middle, he could free his arms and take the attack to the bowling. Bairstow finished with 26 not out from 17 balls as England won by eight wickets with 29 balls to spare.

In T20 terms, that is about as comprehensive a victory you can get. Much of the win was built on England's bowling. There is genuine pace in Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, good death bowling for Chris Jordan, and Adil Rashid's spin giving England's attack real match winners.

What is even better for England is they have other options in the bowlers they use. David Willey and Chris Woakes are useful options, and Moeen Ali is a handy second spinner.

England will expect India to come back at them for the rest of the series, and it will be an actual test of England's chances to bring back another T20 World Cup. It won't be easy for the ODI World Champions to hold both trophy's, but Eion Morgan's side will give it their best to achieve it.

Day 70: Have laptop will travel

I have big plans for the coming cricket season. In the past, that would have been to take 20 wickets in the Mansfield and District League. I have no plans to stop playing, but my goals for this season are from the boundary edge. I know for sure that includes writing as much as I can. Those of you following this blog will know that I have been writing every day this year.

What are my plans once the first umpires of summer call play? I want to be coving as much domestic cricket as time will allow me around the day job. In particular, I will concentrate on women's cricket. I outlined a few reasons in this post https://bit.ly/3qBMdjl

I will outline the competitions that I aim to cover; if you have any other ideas of what I can do to bring the coverage they deserve, please let me know. We all need to make sure that the content of women's sport is the best it can be and that we get the message out that it worth investing time, effort and money into. That starts with us.

County T20 Cup

This starts while there are lockdown restrictions still in force. This will make it difficult to cover anything more than local, combined with Sunday games and my only option to get to games is public transport makes it more difficult.

I like the format of three games in a day, and the games are usually entertaining. If I can get to the ground, I will be there, offering updates on how unfolding events.

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

I enjoyed this competition last year. There is a real sense that the domestic game has taken an enormous step forward. The games were played at some exciting grounds, and I was lucky enough to be at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge to report on games last year.

I want to continue to support this competition. I will be pleased to see some of the southern sides in action, although the Midlands sides will remain a focus due to their location. Still, adventures further afield will be on the cards by the time the action kicks off.

Some outstanding players in the RHFT deserve to have their stories told. I have started to interview players and plan to arrange more over the coming months. Having these players and their coaches stories told is essential in giving new supporters a way to find out more about their new favourite players.

When the same sides turn to T20 action, I plan to be there as well.

ICC Women's T20 World Cup European Qualifier

This is probably the most exciting event on my radar. I'm not sure about logistics yet. How will I get there? Where will I stay? Would I be able to stay for the final? The summer holidays end the day of the final, and it is a long way from home.

What I will not exhaust is a way of getting there. We must support the associate nations; the game needs to grow beyond its traditional areas, and encouraging countries such as France, Germany, and Turkey is important. Just look how much fun it was to have Thailand at last years T20 World Cup.

Having a Scottish heritage that I am proud of doesn't go amiss, and spending some time in the country that my ancestors lived in is important to me.

The Hundred

Love or hate the concept; there is no getting away from the importance for women's cricket that the Hundred has to the women's game. It will be the official shop window for the game, even more so that England games in some respects.

With games set to be broadcast on free-to-air television, it will be the first time that a large audience will see women's domestic cricket.

It coincides with the start of the school holidays, and I will have time to devote to detailed competition coverage.

Men's domestic cricket

If there is time left after, I would like to cover some of the men's county competitions, such as the championship, T20 blast and 50 over competition. With Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire on my doorstep, staying local isn't a problem. Having been a supporter of Sussex for nearly 30 years now, I have a vested interest in their games.

Looking for any opportunity

Besides writing, I'm not sure what I am capable of, I have helped record a baseball podcast in the past, and I'm not sure if I could do something similar. There are already others doing great stuff in that area, and would I be a voice too many?

I'm willing to give anything a go. Let's work together.

Day 69: Lets hope for more Tests

 It appears suddenly that India wants their women’s team to play more Test matches. It has come as a surprise to a lot of us. The BCCI has been criticised for how they have been running the women’s game of late. It has appeared for years that Test match cricket outside of the Ashes was consigned to the past.

It isn’t bad that women’s Test cricket has reappeared on the radar; it has just caught many off guard, including the ECB, who are still finalising the women’s international calendar this summer.

In 2006 I was at all four days of a Test Match between England and India at Leicester. England declared at lunch on the last day and were two wickets away from an unlikely win by the end.

If Test cricket is to become a part of the international landscape, it would also need to become more of a factor at the domestic level. This is starting to become more of a possibility in England and Australia, with new levels of professionalism.

With the regional system in England, there are different ways multi-day games could be scheduled. Matches between the other regions show clear games to prove the best teams in the north, midlands, and south. Or a mix of the best players for the north and south regions.

If you want to implement more Test matches, it will help to get players used the format. There will be game plans developed, and skills will be developed to the benefit of the players.

Some players have been deprived of playing what is seen by players and commentators as the ultimate version of the game. There are players like Laura Wolvaardt who may never get to play the format she is suited to.

Hopefully, it is just another reason why the women’s game is the way forward.

Day 68: Happy to be a loser

 I was thinking about why I support some of the sporting teams that I do. Geography doesn’t always play a part. I had never been to Norwich or Loughborough before I took an interest in their teams.

Two of the cricket teams I have an affinity to are down mostly to geography. I was born, and for a long while, I have lived in Nottinghamshire. I have been going to Trent Bridge regularly for as long as I can remember. My first game was the Test match with the famous duel between Michael Atherton and Allan Donald, albeit the day after. £4 for a days test cricket, what isn’t to like?

But for me, it will always be the team from Hove that will have my loyalty. I lived in Crawley for a short time, and when my family moved over the Hampshire border, I knew that the six martlets team were my side.

It was never built on wanting to support a successful side but a team I could identify with. I missed the era where Imran Khan played for the ultimate South Coast side, but that never mattered. I cried when Sussex lost the Nat West Trophy Final in 1993. I soon satisfied that this team was never going to win anything. I was content with my happy go lucky losers.

Chris Adams, Peter Moores, and Mark Robinson ruined that. They found a way to make Sussex winners, and it was great while those glory years took place.

There was a mix of young players and experienced pros. All with a will to win and united under strong leaders. It was great; I was in my element and far away from the county, I found inventive ways to watch them play as often as possible.

What it did was raise my hopes and expectations. I was happy supporting a team that finished nowhere. I really was. Now that Sussex have crept back into their old ways, I still hope that they will put a string of victories together and add to the three County Championships that were won during the years that Mushtaq Ahmed spun Sussex to the top of the first-class tree.

Although I’m happy with Sussex being a team that only I could love, and for me, that is the most important thing.

Day 67: Positives of International Women's Day

 It will take a lot to surpass the International Women's Day of 2020; that day saw over 86,000 watched the Women's T20 World Cup final. The Australian team's iconic moment dancing with Katy Perry after the tournament's last ball started to become a memory.

Yesterday we saw two different series being played on the same day as India played their first international in nearly a year. Much has been made of India's absence on the international scene. One started to wonder if the women's team was a high priority in the BCCI.

Today they surprised more than a few people when it was announced that India will be playing a Test match when they visit England this summer. India have not played a Test since 2014.

England and Australia have remained the only two sides to still compete in the longest format. It will be good not just for the fans but the players of the top nations that there is a prospect of playing Test cricket.

There was also an announcement by the ICC stating that the Women's World Cups in both the ODI and T20 formats would be extended to include more teams. While they both won't take place for a while, it is a step in the right direction and indicates the ICC know that the women's game is a growth area.

The World Cup will move from 8 teams in 2025 to ten teams in 2029. Similarly, the T20 World cup will move from ten teams in 2024 to 12 teams in 2026. A six-team T20 Champions Cup will also be introduced in 2027.

It gives hope to the teams outside the top eight ranked sides of making a World Cup. The appearance of Thailand at last years T20 World Cup was a joy to behold. They never let themselves down, and it would be great to see more associate nations have a place at the top table.