More time in the village than on the pitch
Well that was a disappointing start to WBBL06.
Only 3 matches were played and got results, and the other 5 were washouts.
On the flip side, my tip rate is 66% - I successfully picked the Heat to win over the Scorchers, and the Sixers to beat the Stars, but I thought the Canes might go into the season with a win against the Strikers due to the excitement of those new signings.
They didn’t. And in fact, the Hurricanes got, well, they got caned. The Strikers bowling was on song early and the Hurricanes just couldn’t steady themselves. And how about Megan Schutt just missing out on her hat-trick?
The Heat looked pretty solid against the Scorchers, although the opening partnership of Mooney and Devine for the Scorchers is already looking ominous. The Scorchers may well get to the final off the back of a Mooney/Devine run-fest after the way they played last weekend. They’re only going to get better the more they play together.
As for the only other match that was played to a result, the Sixers cruised to a win via the DLS system in their rain-shortened match against the Strikers.
Although we didn’t get much cricket last weekend, we got to hear Grace Harris back on the mic, and I was particularly pleased to be able to listen to an all-woman commentary team for the Heat v Scorchers opening match.
More of that, thank you very much!
It’s been interesting this week to hear about the goings-on in The Village, and the content being put out by the teams as well as Cricket Australia has been fantastic. We’ve heard about Grace Harris’s shiner, the result of a golf simulator accident, and apparently, Megan Schutt has taken the mantle of WBBL Pest up a notch by smuggling a couple of NERF guns into the Village.
And just yesterday, we heard that some of the players were busy campaigning for Mayor of the WBBL Village. (I haven’t heard who won yet).
When I think of women’s cricket, these are the sorts of stories I love to hear best.
The camaraderie between opposition teams and players is amazing and shows that, although you can be competitive on the field, you’re colleagues and ambassadors off it.
And what an amazing chance for some of the younger, newer players to hang around and pick the brains of the experienced players. That’s something they wouldn’t normally get the chance to do.
When we see women’s players off the field, no matter who they play for, their love for the game is unmistakable.
I freely admit that I’ve gone off the men’s team, and the BBL, over the last couple of years, and I think if it wasn’t for the women, I may have lost interest in cricket completely.
I’m a bit miffed at the corporatisation of the game these days, and it’s so great to see the unbridled joy and passion that the women play it with, on and off the field.
I’m not going to make any predictions this week, simply because who knows what will happen with the weather in Sydney again, and also because there are 12 matches over 5 days, so a veritable smorgasbord of WBBL action.
We’re due for storms over the weekend up here in Queensland, so I may not get to see many of the matches. My little close-to-seaside village antenna has conniptions when there’s even a hint of rain or a pick-up in the wind, so here’s hoping those storms stay away.
I will say, though, that the game I’m most looking forward to this week is the Strikers v the Scorchers. I can’t wait to see Schutt and Co v Devine.
See you next week!