More to cricket than balls.

I recall a discussion in my interview with now CEO, Kevin Roberts, about the potential Cricket Australia has to grow and champion women in sport. He asked me to elaborate and I said that until I was interviewing and researching for the role, I had no idea there was an Australian Women’s Cricket team. To be fair, I didn’t know much about the Men’s team either but at least I knew it existed. We talked about the importance of broadening the conversation so that Australian Cricket didn’t just mean the Men’s team. That aside from the exciting story we had to tell in the different communities within cricket right across the country, that when reputation was at risk because of its highest profile players, the average punter considered the positives of the broader efforts of cricket in Australia. 

Not to diminish ‘sandpapergate’ in any way, but consider the Women’s efforts, the community teams and the inclusive cricket being played across the nation by blind, deaf, indigenous, people living with mental illness, veterans, children, transgender, you name it, and perhaps the crisis of Capetown might have been considered in a different context, with a different perspective, under a different spotlight.    

Growing new audiences and markets takes time, it takes money, it means changing long-held views, it means different ways of operating and doing business, it takes courage and commitment. 

Historically in Australia (and around the world), compared with their male counterparts, women's sports have been under-prioritised and under-resourced at the elite level. 

Though Cricket Australia is paving the way with pay equity, pay disparity in women’s sports is still an issue and goes hand in hand with awareness of our female players and their coverage in the media today. According to research, only nine percent of sports coverage in Australia is dedicated to women’s sport. 

But things are changing. 

The launch of professional Australian Rules football league AFLW in 2017, and the landmark TV broadcast deal for the Super Netball competition, show progress. Australian Cricket is leading the field on gender equity with its equal pay agreement at the heart of its strategy where all elite players, regardless of gender, begin with the same base rate of pay for hours played. Tennis has also been a trailblazer in this space. 

In 2018, semi-professional women's rugby league games were also played for the first time. 

And there’s undoubtedly more to come. 

Cricket is working hard towards a future as a gender equal sport – a traditionally male dominated sport, our focus on growing new audiences, growing the women’s game is crucial to our future.   

Our vision is to be the number one sport for women and girls – a vision shared by others but one we feel we have a stronghold given our long history and first mover advantage. That said, any progress made regardless of sporting code is of benefit to all women in sport, which makes this more a concerted effort than a competition. If we stay on track, it will be just as likely for a girl to pick up a cricket bat as it is for a boy. 

Women’s cricket is not new. Acknowledging our deep history is pivotal to our future success. The first women’s cricket match in Australia took place in Bendigo in 1874. 

The Women beat the men to the punch with the first ever Cricket World Cup in 1973, two years ahead of the first men’s World Cup. 

And, fun fact: women are said to be the reason overarm bowling originated, their long skirts got in the way so they adopted a new style – a demonstration of our innovators in action, improving the game. 

We have an honour roll of incredible athletes, record makers and breakers, that have demonstrated their skill and determination over the century, despite having to balance their training and play with life commitments … and making their own uniforms! Many of whom are still involved in the game today… Belinda Clark, Mel Jones, Lisa Sthalekar, Shelley Nitschke, Karen Rolton just to name a few. 

And then there’s today’s talent: the Aussie Women’s team recently took home the Ashes in the UK, if you missed it you wouldn’t have seen Australian Captain Meg Lanning hitting 133 from 63 balls, slamming seven sixes over the fences and into the spectators in one day, or Ellyse Perry – only one of four cricketers to take seven wickets in an ODI, or taking her thousandth T20 run and hundredth wicket in the same format – the girls can play! 

Walking the talk - our strategy.

The Australian Cricket Strategy 2017-2022 specifically calls out sustainable growth of women’s and girls’ participation, and a focus on making sure cricket clubs are welcoming and enjoyable places to be. 

As a strategic goal, Cricket Australia is putting considerable energy into growing the game for women and girls. Our goal is to have 4000 women’s teams and at least 660,000 female participants by 2022. 

So what’s the plan? 

Starting at the organisation level, Cricket Australia has taken a strong position on pay equity, parental leave and our recently launched transgender policy. We have 38% female representation on the executive, 20% representation on the Board and the organisation is 43% female. We are committed to a minimum 40% representation at all levels. 

By having greater cognitive diversity at the table we are also committed to being more inclusive. When our audience includes everyone, our goal becomes more achievable. 

We are also changing the way we format the game. We have launched WBBL as a standalone from the men’s game for first time in the coming months. The T20 World Cup is also a standalone event with a move being made away from the smaller regional venues and an audience capacity uplift resulting from bigger venues - the finals will be played at the SCG and MCG with records set to tumble… more on that to come. 

Marketing, media and communications are key platforms for building awareness. Our first female targeted TVC went live in 2018, and we will launch our second later this year. The Watch Me TVC was a symbol our business is committed to growing the women’s game, above the line. 

We’ve made a conscious effort to tell the women’s stories to the media – proactively putting forward our female athletes for media opportunities and helping to fund Aus journalist travel to attend the 2019 Ashes in the UK – in the absence of such support, there would have only been Cricket’s digital journalists in attendance. 

We are relentlessly committed to growing the awareness of our female athletes in this country – it’s such a crucial way to grow new fans and attract new audiences, and as we lead into the long summer of cricket we will take advantage of opportunities to reach consumers with our stories – we’re exploring unusual alliances with organisations like UN Women and VAMFF (Virgin Australia Fashion Festival) as a way to talk with audiences who haven’t typically been interested in sport. 

Participation and grassroots is at the heart of our strategy. In 2018/19, registered female participation grew by 14 per cent, including 873 new girls’ teams taking the field and females now making up 30 per cent of cricket participants in Australia and we continue to invest to make it easier and more accessible, fun and inclusive for girls to play. 

Partnerships are crucial. Another catalyst for the growth of the female game is Cricket Australia’s Growing Cricket for Girls Fund that has been supported over the past four years by the Commonwealth Bank. The Fund is an initiative that has supported 99 community associations, 10 school sporting associations, 531 clubs and 111 schools develop girls’ teams or develop an all-girls competition since 2016. 

Tamisine Heath from Commonwealth Bank Australia joined me to talk about CBA’s highly successful ad campaign generating conversations, driving more eyeballs and interest in our fabulous female athletes. 

And finally, we are making the most of our opportunities. 

Cricket Australia and the ICC World Cup team have an unparalleled opportunity to drive the continued momentum of cricket in Australia. 

With the T20 World Cup Final being held in Melbourne on International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March 2020 there’s never been a bigger platform to celebrate the success of all women’s sports – and I encourage each and every one of you to be there on the day as we attempt to break the record for the most attended female sporting event in the world. 

This record breaking moment acts as a symbol for equality, inclusion and accelerates the incredible momentum behind women’s sport in Australia and around the world – we’re sure this single moment in history will create new fans for life! 

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