More women’s cricket on TV, please

Cape Town - It would be silly of me to state that women’s cricket has come a long way – that has been clear for some time.

But the fact that it is a thoroughly entertaining product to view on television is another.

Maybe again it has been the case for a while too, but TV broadcasters were just too prejudiced to actually put some money behind it.

But there should be no turning back now after two matches across contrasting formats in different parts of the world were thoroughly engaging and dramatic.

Women’s cricket is primarily reduced to ODIs and T20s, but Australia and England produced a thrilling Test match in Canberra last week that can stand alongside – if not surpass – any of the legendary men’s Ashes contests of the past century.

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Certainly, England captain Heather Knight’s efforts with the bat – 168 not out and 48 – sit at the same table as Ian Botham’s 1981 and Andrew Flintoff’s 2005 heroics, even though her team never quite got over the line. But how close was it?

Chasing 257 to win, England made the highest fourth-innings score in women’s Test history, with all four results possible in the final over.

And like in every epic contest, Australia played their part too. Firstly, Meg Lanning’s declaration is exactly what the men’s game requires, with a captain willing to entertain the prospect of losing if that actually means giving themselves the best chance of winning.

The hosts then claimed nine wickets in a session, even when all hope had seemed lost, with England requiring 13 runs off 15 balls with three wickets in hand at one stage.

Over 430 000 viewers tuned in for the final session, peaking at 558 000 to make it the