Cricket Australia announced what it described as "the largest single investment in women’s sport and diversity programs," backed by a A$5M ($3.8M)-a-year commitment from the Commonwealth Bank for the next three years, according to Nicole Jeffery of THE AUSTRALIAN. The "arms race" for Australia’s top female athletes is "gathering pace and cricket is determined not to be left behind." The package of programs "includes a boost in funding for the national women’s team and the women’s Big Bash League." Diversity programs "include the development of pathways for female and indigenous players, national disability teams, and for indigenous teams," which will include a tour of England in '18 to mark the 150th anniversary of the first indigenous tour in 1868. CA CEO James Sutherland said, "We've got big plans, really big plans. We just feel that something happened in world sport, women’s sport, in 2015 where there was a changing of the tide that really allowed governing bodies, if they so choose, to really step up and make women’s events, put them on the platform that they deserve to be on" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/18). Cricket at all levels will benefit from the watershed commitment. Australia’s Blind, Deaf and ID teams will no longer have to pay to represent their country, with cricket becoming the first non-Paralympian Australian sport to fully integrate and support its national teams for players with a disability. Commonwealth Bank CEO Ian Narev said, "Our partnership with Australian cricket has been unbroken for close to 30 years. Over this time we have continued to innovate together. This next phase will focus on broadening participation in what is already our national game" (CA).
GAINING AN EDGE: In Sydney, Chris Barrett reported Australian women's national cricket team (Southern Stars) captain Meg Lanning believes that the "opportunity to represent Australia gives the sport an edge in luring talent to the game." The investment, "following pay rises that have increasingly allowed Australia's leading players to be fully professional," comes at a time when the likes of the Australian Football League and netball have made "great strides." The AFL is kicking off its inaugural women's league, for which former Southern Stars batter Jess Cameron was drafted by Collingwood, and "netball has a revamped national league and free-to-air broadcasting deal." CA "argues it has been ahead of the pace, with the second Women's Big Bash League taking place this summer and player remuneration and funding for development having been lifted notably in the past two years." Sutherland: "I don't think Cricket Australia is late to the party." Lanning said, "I think that's the massive advantage that cricket has got over some other sports and that's that you can play for your country" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 10/17). In Melbourne, Greg Buckle reported Monday's announcement comes after the Int'l Cricket Council said on Saturday that CA's "bid to host the women's World T20 as a separate event to the men's competition in 2020 had been approved." The women's World T20 will be staged in February and March '20, "followed by the men's event in October and November" (HERALD SUN, 10/17).
