What Does Australia's Hundred Dominance Mean For Women's Cricket?

Southern Brave had conscionable dismissed Australia prima Phoebe Litchfield, and they were successful pinch a chance - Northern Superchargers were wobbling astatine 59-3 successful pursuit of 116 to triumph The Hundred, and their starring run-scorer was backmost successful nan dugout.

One much wicket and nan last would really beryllium successful nan balance.

Except, Brave's players were fixed a sensation of England's Ashes acquisition earlier this year: nan world-class Australians conscionable kept coming.

Nicola Carey embodies nan staggering spot successful extent of world cricket's juggernaut - nan all-rounder has not played for Australia since 2022 but came successful astatine number 5 and cruised to 35 from 25 balls, starring nan Superchargers to triumph pinch 12 balls to spare.

In an unbeaten guidelines of 60 pinch chap Australian all-rounder Annabel Sutherland, location were nary much nerves aliases wobbles. In fact, they hardly collapsed a sweat.

It is not breaking news that Australia are nan ascendant unit successful women's cricket. Since 2018, they person won 3 T20 World Cups, a 50-over World Cup and nan Commonwealth Games title, while England person not won nan Ashes since 2014.

Therefore it is not a astonishment their players are nan astir sought-after successful nan era of franchise cricket. But moreover players who cannot break into nan Australia side, including Carey, Jess Jonassen and Amanda-Jade Wellington, are capable to dominate.

But what does this mean for nan wider women's game, and for home players successful The Hundred who whitethorn struggle to break done arsenic a result?

Australians made up conscionable complete 16% of The Hundred's women's squads this year, pinch 17 featuring retired of 105.

Comparatively, location were 2 players from New Zealand and West Indies and 4 South Africans.

The Aussies peculiarly dominated pinch nan bat, accounting for 4 of nan apical 10 run-scorers successful nan competition, including subordinate of nan tourney Litchfield astatine nan helm pinch 292. She was intimately followed connected 287 by erstwhile Australia skipper Meg Lanning - different who nary longer plays for nan nationalist team.

Altogether, Australians scored 2,495 runs astatine an mean of 25.45 while England-qualified players (73 players, conscionable awkward of 70%) scored 3,995 astatine 15.85. If we look purely astatine top-six batters, nan spread remains: Australians averaging 26.62 and nan English contingent 19.48.

The visiting superstars besides scored 11 fifties to England's 15, while Grace Harris, Carey and Litchfield had nan highest strike-rates, and 4 of nan apical 5 six-hitters were Australian.

They were not rather arsenic ascendant pinch nan ball, pinch England's Lauren Bell enjoying a stellar tourney pinch 19 wickets, but still accounted for 23% of each wickets taken.

This is different large logic arsenic to why truthful galore Australians are selected, because of nan sheer number of all-rounders they produce.

Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, Sutherland, Jonassen, Carey - alongside nan likes of Marizanne Kapp and Hayley Matthews of different nationalities - will almost ever present 20 balls aliases 4 overs, depending connected nan format, and bat successful nan apical five.

This, however, intends rather a fewer teams section players who are almost making up nan numbers successful position of batting successful nan little bid and not bowling.

Perry, Gardner and Beth Mooney besides captained sides this year, but aft post-Ashes disapproval regarding a deficiency of succession readying for nan extremity of Heather Knight's England reign, location has been immoderate betterment successful this respect - nan Hundred final, for example, featured 2 English home captains successful Hollie Armitage and Georgia Adams. Charlie Dean besides led good for London Spirit successful nan absence of Knight.

It has historically been difficult for uncapped home players to compete successful nan tournament, but location person been glimpses of brilliance this twelvemonth to propose that inclination mightiness statesman to change.

London Spirit's Kira Chathli was only called up arsenic a replacement subordinate for nan injured Knight, but she ended nan tourney arsenic nan sixth-highest run-scorer and nan only non-international subordinate successful nan apical 10.

Similarly, 18-year-old Davina Perrin provided nan infinitesimal of nan tourney pinch her stunning 42-ball period successful nan Eliminator, arguably nan finest sound successful nan competition's 5 years and a show of power acold greater than immoderate different world subordinate had managed this year.

But pinch accrued finance and England's vastly improved home building now successful place, it is captious that these moments are nary longer considered an anomaly.

Former England bowler Anya Shrubsole played for Southern Brave successful nan first 3 editions of The Hundred earlier her status and says nan positives of having Australian players progressive outweighs immoderate of nan different concerns astir their dominance.

An up-and-coming English player, an illustration being young spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman for Brave, is apt to study a batch astir her crippled and nan modular required for world cricket by bowling astatine Litchfield successful nan unit moments of a Hundred final.

"There are truthful galore benefits to having them successful a tourney and I deliberation nan main 1 is you person world players, England players, home players who get to spot first-hand what those players do, really they spell astir things to beryllium successful," Shrubsole told BBC Sport.

"From my constituent of view, if you're switched connected capable and asking capable questions, that can't thief but use you arsenic a cricketer.

"It's awesome for nan tourney and if you salary capable attraction it's bully for individual cricketers' development."

The different statement could beryllium that their power whitethorn beryllium holding backmost home players from developing.

All-rounder Fi Morris played six games for Manchester Originals this twelvemonth and only batted 3 times and did not bowl. While she acknowledges nan concerns, Morris shares Shrubsole's position that nan learning opportunities are acold greater pinch nan Australian contingent around.

"I'm not a young subordinate coming done nan ranks, but I tin decidedly spot that constituent of view," Morris, 31, told BBC Sport.

"Are you going to summation much from spending 3 weeks talking to Meg Lanning astir batting and learning from her successful training, aliases are you going to summation much from batting a small spot higher successful nan order?

"That's wherever I deliberation nan overseas [players] successful general, aliases each overseas that I've ever worked with, has been perfectly awesome and massively approachable and really receptive to conscionable passing connected their knowledge successful nan game."

Branching retired from The Hundred specifically, this does airs a problem for nan wider women's crippled arsenic franchise tournaments proceed to grow.

As of adjacent year, The Hundred will subordinate India's Women's Premier League pinch teams being owned privately - Australia's Women's Big Bash League is presently nan objection from nan biggest three.

Their privilege will beryllium to win, and that will require nan champion players, and nan immense mostly of those overseas will beryllium Australian.

From this perspective, really tin nan struggling West Indies create nan adjacent Hayley Matthews? How does a promising young all-rounder for illustration South Africa's Annerie Dercksen get her breakthrough?

Shrubsole says nan recruitment of Australians is somewhat inevitable successful franchise cricket now, but she points to home set-ups arsenic a measurement to support different countries, saying: "You can't person it all. You can't person these backstage investors who person paid millions of pounds and say: 'Oh, by nan way, you can't prime that galore players because really we want to create our own.'

"The reality is that nan privilege is going to beryllium winning. The broadcasters want nan champion players disposable because you're going to person nan champion cricket and nan caller owners are going to want nan champion players disposable because they person a amended chance of success.

"So pinch a state for illustration New Zealand who person sewage tons of up-and-coming players, likewise pinch South Africa, tin they find a measurement to get their players successful our home building aliases Australia's?

"There's a spot of a benignant of 'England, Australia, merry-go-round' astatine nan moment."

Morris besides points to nan world issue, and calls for much franchise tournaments astir nan world.

"The men person sewage nan ILT20, they've sewage nan PSL, they've sewage nan CPL, they've sewage nan SA20," Morris said.

"So I deliberation we request those smaller tournaments and those tournaments astir nan globe that mightiness conflict pinch an Ashes series, truthful past group from different countries get much of an opportunity.

"I deliberation that's for judge a world rumor that needs addressing and needs improving."

With nan announcement of increased prize money for nan upcoming Women's World Cup, location is simply a beardown anticipation that Australian cricket pockets nan £3.3m apical prize - India and England are nan only different apt contenders.

The imaginable of different countries catching up pinch those 3 is already highly unlikely.

The interest is that it will soon beryllium impossible.