Batting for the women

Cricket, more than most other sports, is continuously shaped by its commerce. So, women will obviously not derive the financial returns that men do till they find large viewerships. But equally, cricket's administrators must examine the entitlements that should be the national team's, men's and women's.

This is why the confusion over how to absorb Taylor's news. Could it be that, as of now — even in England where cricket administrators have worked hard to make the women's game more viable — women cricketers' achievements are in danger of being calibrated in the narrow context of how they measure up to men? It would be an individual milestone, no doubt, but it is questionable how far it would take the women's game.

Or as Harsha Bhogle puts it while seeking a more enlightened way of watching cricket, when you appreciate Victoria Azarenka's tennis, you do not do so by measuring her serve against Rafael Nadal's. It's a good caution to keep in mind in the fortnight ahead.

The writer is contributing editor for 'The Indian Express', express@expressindia.com

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