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Healy, Jones Question Lack Of Spotlight For Australian Womens Cricket

North Sydney Oval: Former Australia captain Alyssa Healy and former international Mel Jones have voiced concerns over the lack of visibility and scheduling space for the countrys womens cricket team, despite its continued success on the global stage. Australias third ODI against New Zealand at North Sydney Oval last Thursday clashed with the final day of the mens Test against South Africa in Gqeberha. Rain in Sydney subsequently restricted the womens match to just 16 balls, bringing an already frustrating evening to an abrupt end. Theyre playing at North Sydney Oval at 7:15pm the Test begins at 7pm. I mean, were even clashing against our own side thats playing overseas. Its disappointing. I think the fact that our girls are playing as well as they are and arent quite getting the spotlight here in our own country is really frustrating, Healy told foxsports.com.au. Jones echoed the sentiment, questioning why Australias womens team was not receiving the platform its performances deserved. I completely agree with Midge (Healy), which might be the first time weve actually agreed on something, Jones laughed. We know that we have probably the best sporting team in the world on our doorstep, and were not allowing that tag and their elite performances and amazing stories and capabilities and athleticism to be showcased. When youve got something like this, you want to show it off and you want to put it on the pedestal it deserves. And having a summer like this in which it has been really difficult for fans to come out and support this team is hugely disappointing, she opined. The scheduling concerns extend beyond the abandoned match. Australias women will go more than four months without an international on home soil, with their October ODI and T20I series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, respectively, confined to Brisbane and Sydney. Even a minor detail youre having the three ODIs in Brisbane and the three T20s in Sydney theres not even an opportunity for the whole of Australia to see a team thats just come off a World Cup win. And that to me is really disappointing, Healy added. The calendar has been complicated by the Womens Premier League (WPL), the Womens Big Bash League (WBBL) and the International Cricket Councils decision to move the inaugural Womens Champions Trophy to February 2027. However, Jones believes scheduling pressures should not come at the expense of the national team. You look at scheduling, and its the most difficult job in cricket at the moment, I think, because we are inundated with overlapping fixtures. We all understand that and we all understand its a tough ask to try and allow everyone to have their space. But youre starting from the top down, arent you? Youve got your two premier sides, the mens teams and the womens teams. There needs to be a more concerted effort to ensure that situations like this dont occur. And thats not just Cricket Australia. There were probably other circumstances around it that played into it, but when you just look at it as a punter and a fan of the game, you just go, well, thats really disappointing. Its a little bit of a lack of respect of the number one team in the world and not giving them space to shine, she said. The fact that the mens Test schedule was finalised relatively late also drew criticism from Jones. I would have thought that its probably more a case of, its going to be harder to shift it than not. But then you go back to South Africa and you say, well, youre late on your scheduling! Id love to know the kind of pushback on the mens side of things once the womens were locked in, she said. Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has since pledged to explore alternatives and get creative with future scheduling. With the ICCs Future Tours Programme leaving limited opportunities for home internationals during the peak summer period, proposed solutions include staging womens T20Is after mens Tests or aligning the WBBL with the mens tournament. Healy believes adjustments remain possible despite the schedule being largely set. Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has since pledged to explore alternatives and get creative with future scheduling. With the ICCs Future Tours Programme leaving limited opportunities for home internationals during the peak summer period, proposed solutions include staging womens T20Is after mens Tests or aligning the WBBL with the mens tournament. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Article Source: IANS

27 Oct 2026 10:50 am