Women’s cricket has reached a stage where its continued growth will depend not only on stronger batting standards but also on developing greater depth in bowling, expanding opportunities for emerging nations and investing more resources into the women’s game, according to Ian Bishop, who was speaking to reporters at JioStar‘s Media Day.
The former West Indies fast bowler and broadcaster believes the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup has highlighted how quickly the leading teams are progressing, with increasingly aggressive batting and improved overall standards reshaping the international game.
Batting standards continue to rise
“I think you’re seeing the evolution of the game, where with each passing World Cup, the better teams are becoming more dynamic, and the lower-ranked teams are getting left behind with regards to their power,” Bishop said.
The tournament has produced some of the highest-scoring matches in Women’s T20 World Cup history, with batting records continuing to fall as teams become more aggressive and technically accomplished.
“We’ve had some really good batting conditions, and I think the groundstaff and the grounds where we’ve played deserve some kudos for leaving enough grass on the pitch for the ball to come on. The ball hasn’t ragged square on too many of the pitches, but I think it’s the evolution and the advancement of the women’s game,” he noted.
Greater emphasis needed on fast bowling
While praising the progress made by batters, Bishop believes the next phase of development should focus on producing more genuine seam bowlers capable of matching the game’s increasingly powerful batting line-ups.
“This is where bowlers have to catch up. One of the big things that I feel going forward is that we have to give more autonomy to organisations to find some more fast bowling and seam bowling options in the women’s game. I think the women’s game has got to a point now where it stands on its own. But I want to see more seam-bowling options come through because we have a lot of spin, and that’s a good thing, but we need to put a search on to find more dynamic fast bowling,” he stated.
Growth extends beyond the field
Bishop believes the popularity of women’s cricket is now evident through growing participation and record attendances, reflecting how the sport has established its own identity.
“The women’s game is a standalone thing. I think we’ve talked about that for a couple of years now, even just as the pandemic started. It has grown to the point where my little girl, just as an example close to me, now loves the game. She wants to play cricket every day. She never used to play, wasn’t interested, and now at school she wants to play every cricket game, and I’m sure that is reflected across other nations. I have been to a lot more age group games in Trinidad in the last couple of years because of my daughter and I have seen the love and passion for the game. So the gospel has been spreading more and more, and that is reflected also in the attendance. I still think that there’s a lot going on, the football World Cup, the Test series with the men, Wimbledon starting, that the numbers could have been better otherwise. So I think the women’s game is growing,” Bishop added.
He also argued that narrowing the gap between the leading sides and developing nations should become a priority if the international game is to become more competitive.
“I’m big on having the lower-ranked nations elevate themselves, because they bring a lot to the game. Where we see them falling short is only because they have not had the opportunity to play against more high-level competition, to play professionally and rub shoulders, apart from a few players, with the other great players in the game. If we can get the balance of that, we will see much more of a challenging situation from these teams,” he said.
Bishop also called for greater autonomy for those responsible for developing women’s cricket, arguing that dedicated governance structures would help accelerate the sport’s progress.
“If we give more autonomy to the women’s game, I don’t know if it’s right to say this or not, but I feel that we can specialise in the administrations that run the women’s game, give them autonomy, so that they have all the attention at the local, territorial, country boards, and maybe at the top governing body, to pour more into the women’s game, and it will get even better. That would be my cry from here. A lot of work has gone into that, but I still want to see more,” he concluded.
With participation, attendances and the overall standard of competition continuing to rise, Bishop believes the next phase of women’s cricket will depend on sustained investment in player development, fast-bowling pathways and administrative support to ensure the game’s momentum continues.
