The fairer sex, a much better fairing

As the England men’s cricket team reflected on another defeat in Australia, their teammates battled for a vital and well-earned victory over their Australian rivals.

Taking a step closer to retaining The Ashes, the women of England forced the collapse of the Australian batting order thanks to the ingenious bowling of Jenny Gunn, Anya Shrubsole and Yorkshire bowler Katherine Brunt.

It was Brunt’s spell with the ball that eliminated the rather stubborn Australian hitter Sarah Elliot’s stubborn finish to seal the win and bring England closer to a total victory. With only two victories required from the next six tests, it seems that the women of England are well prepared to venture where no Englishman has been this winter.

While team captain Charlotte Edwards stands firm in the fact that overconfidence won’t erode her team during the later tests, it’s hard for some English fans not to get excited about the rather tantalizing idea of ​​finally defeating Australia. .

But let’s challenge Captain Edwards and get romantic for a moment. If the women of England defeat the Australians, it will appear that the English game will have a new cast of heroines. As saviors of English cricket, they could deliver the best PR hit the ECB could have asked for. The English and Welsh cricket board, as a sports management body, faced extreme pressure as its male stars toiled and collapsed, while the women’s side stood firm and flourishing, seeming to be the salvation of the ECB. .

The defeat of the men now seems to be the cause of the women. In a supposedly unconscious show of support, Charlotte Edwards turned the men’s defeat into the inspiration that is propelling her team in their quest for victory.

While it could be debated that our female cricketers are taking the pressure off men, we can’t take away the great job they are doing not just for women’s cricket, but for women’s sport in general. In the past two years, we’ve seen athletes like Jessica Ennis-Hill, Christine Ohuruogu, and Nicola Adams celebrated for their individual success on the world stage and at home, but could 2014 see an increase in interest in our women’s sports teams? ?

This sporting year will see international competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and the Women’s Rugby World Cup, with an offering of the Women’s Soccer World Cup in 2015. Illustrious competitions like these will offer the best opportunity for our top stars in women’s sport capture the nation.

So, with a calendar full of elite sporting events and a wave of PR support driving British teams, could 2014 be the start of a new era for women’s team sports? Three weeks after the start of the New Year and the England women’s cricket team already has the nation on a spin with their victorious performances against Australia.